Rèze is a white
Swiss wine
Swiss wine is produced from nearly of vineyards, and the wines are mainly produced in the west and in the south of Switzerland, in the cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Valais and Vaud. White grape varieties are grown on 43% of the count ...
grape variety
This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Vit ...
that is primarily found around the city of
Sierre
Sierre (; german: Siders, ; frp, Siérro, ) is the capital municipality of the district of Sierre, located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It has a population of 16,332.
Sierre is nicknamed City of the Sun (french: Cité du Soleil) for ...
in the
canton of
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...
in southwest
Switzerland.
[J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 152 Oxford University Press 1996 ] Here the variety is used to produce ''vin des glaciers''—a
sherry
Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light vers ...
-style wine that utilizes a
solera
''Solera'' is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over man ...
system of wine stored in
larch
Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
wood or
oak barrels
Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods, or as free-floating chips or staves added to wine fermented in a ve ...
that are never fully emptied with newer
vintage
Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In cer ...
s being added to the barrels containing the older vintages.
Despite its historical use in the production of ''vin des glaciers'', its plantings have nonetheless been declining over the last century and now the variety is almost extinction.
In the 21st century,
DNA profiling
DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding.
DNA profiling is a forensic t ...
determined that Rèze is likely one of the parent varieties to the
Piedmont wine grape
Cascarolo bianco and the
Trentino wine grapes
Nosiola and
Groppello di Revò.
[J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 197-198, 737 Allen Lane 2012 ]
Synonyms
Over the years Rèze has been known under a variety of synonyms including Petit Prié Tardif, Reize verte, Réze verte, Rèzi and Resi.
Vitis International Variety Catalogue
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung G ...
(VIVC)
Rèze
' Accessed: August 18th, 2012
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reze
White wine grape varieties