Blanc de Noirs

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The color of the majority of red wine grape varieties sit in the berry skin, while the juice of the berry is colorless.

Blanc de Noirs ( French literally: " White from black ") is the French name for white wine, champagne or crémant made from red wine varieties . The term has not yet been defined in German wine law, but it is also not objected to. In the wine law commentary it says: “Other than the wine type names rosé wine and white autumn are not permitted.” In German-speaking Switzerland, Blanc de Noirs is also referred to as Federweisser .

The juice of most grapes is light, regardless of the color of the skin, as the color of the grape is almost entirely in the skin. If the juice is separated from the skins before fermentation, a light wine is obtained. The wine only turns red when these pigments are dissolved from the skin. This happens during fermentation through the alcohol, but also through the grape juice and the sugar it contains. Therefore, with white wine made from red wine grapes, it is particularly important to bring the grapes healthy, i.e. unharmed, to processing, and then to press them as quickly as possible so that the grape skins and juice are separated. This is the usual procedure in France to make a white wine from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier . The use of Pinot Noir is said to give the champagne weight and body. In contrast to the almost colorless Blanc de Blancs, the Blanc de Noirs has a light pink tone. If the result is too dark, the wine is called taché .

The process is also used for the white Zinfandel , the so-called Zinfandel Blush , which, however, does not have a good taste as it loses the berry fruit character for which the Zinfandel is particularly valued. The process was originally introduced to give a future to a grape variety that had gone out of fashion. Today, however, the demand for red wine is so great that red grapes are not robbed of their color without a very good reason.

In contrast to the Blanc de Noirs is the Blanc de Blancs , which was made only from white grapes. It is significantly more expensive than the Blanc de Noirs products, as the Chardonnay grapes used exclusively for the Blanc de Blancs are also more expensive on the market.

In Germany, some wines are now called Blanc de noirs . There is no legal regulation yet, but the following points are considered to be generally applicable in wine control:

  1. For Blanc de noirs , the wine must come entirely from light-pressed grapes from one or more grape varieties that are defined as Noir varieties in the grape variety directory. The privilege that z. B. applies to the white autumn and according to which the wine must be made from only 95% light-pressed must, cannot be used here.
  2. Pinot Noir Weißherbst can also be labeled with the indication of Blanc de Noirs on the label.
  3. In the case of a light-pressed wine, the white autumn wine type can be dispensed with. It is sufficient to specify the grape variety and Blanc de Noirs . Specifications for the design of the characters are not specified for Blanc de Noirs .
  4. In the case of light-pressed wines made from several grape varieties, the indication of blanc de noirs is sufficient without naming the grape varieties or wine type on the label.
  5. Instead of blanc de noirs, the term pressed white can also be used.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Jörg Koch: Weinrecht commentary. 4th edition 2008, ISBN 978-3-87150-800-4 .