Grenache Blanc
Grenache Blanc is a white grape variety that is primarily grown in southern France as well as in northern and eastern Spain under the name Garnacha Blanca (in Spanish) and Garnatxa Blanca (in Catalan). It is a variant of the red Grenache .
With careful pruning and conscientious cellar work, it can produce single- variety wines with full taste and body, and it is even worth aging in small oak barrels ( barriques ). Its weak point is its low acidity . The finest wines are made of her in Châteauneuf-du-Pape pressed where they in most white wine - cuvees for the largest share.
Although the Grenache Blanc is losing more and more of its importance, in 2007 (source ONIVINS) it occupied just 5,097 hectares (in 1979 it was 16,285 hectares), the grape is still cultivated a lot in Roussillon . It serves as a component in the lighter version of the Rivesaltes .
As Garnacha Blanca or Garnatxa Blanca , the grape plays a role in Spanish white wines, e.g. B. in Alella (wine region) , Calatayud , Priorat , Tarragona , Rioja and Navarra .
In California (→ Viticulture in California ) the area under vines was 159 acres (63 hectares) in 2008 .
Ampelographic varietal characteristics
In ampelography , the habitus is described as follows:
- The shoot tip is open. It is very hairy whitish with a very slightly reddish tinge. The green, slightly bronze-colored young leaves are slightly hairy.
- The medium-sized leaves (see also the article leaf shape ) are usually five-lobed and only moderately thick. They are light green in color and very shiny. The stem bay is U-shaped open. The leaf margin is finely serrated. The teeth are small compared to the grape varieties. The leaf surface (also called blade) is smooth.
- The cone-shaped grape is medium to large in size and has dense berries. The round or slightly oval berries are medium-sized and black in color. The skin of the berry is thick. The berries are juicy; the juice is colorless.
The Grenache drives out relatively early. In damp weather during flowering, the Grenache Blanc tends to trickle down .
Grenache is mostly with the goblet method educated . It is quite resistant to powdery mildew . It is susceptible to downy mildew , eutypiosis and raw rot . Therefore, the yields can vary between 20 hectoliters / hectare and 80 hectoliters / hectare.
So far, 2 clones have been selected and recognized in France: clone n ° 141 and n ° 143.
Individual evidence
- ↑ LES CEPAGES BLANCS DANS LE VIGNOBLE (PDF) ( Memento from March 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), statistics on white grape varieties per Greater Region, Part 1, publication of the OFFICE NATIONAL INTERPROFESSIONNEL DES FRUITS, DES LEGUMES, DES VINS ET DE L'HORTICULTURE - ONIVINS for short, as of 2008
- ↑ LES CEPAGES BLANCS DANS LE VIGNOBLE (PDF) ( Memento from March 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), statistics on white grape varieties per greater region, part 2, publication of the OFFICE NATIONAL INTERPROFESSIONNEL DES FRUITS, DES LEGUMES, DES VINS ET DE L'HORTICULTURE - ONIVINS for short, as of 2008
- ↑ California grape acreage report, 2008 crop ( memento of the original from March 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 2.1 MB), published April 2009 by the California Department of Food and Agriculture
literature
- Pierre Galet : Dictionnaire encyclopédique des cépages. Hachette, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-01-236331-8 .
- Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon. 3rd, completely revised edition. Hallwag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8338-0691-9 .