New experiments in vine cultivation.

If you are reading this column, you probably know the names of the famous wine grapes Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, etc. Soon you will have to learn new ones. All the vines mentioned above belong to the European vine species, Vitis viniferawhile the (relatively) newcomer vines I refer to are hybrids of vinifera varieties and members of other species of the genus vitis.

Breeders have been experimenting with crossing and hybridizing vines for at least a couple of centuries, especially in North America. (A cross involves two vines of the same species, a hybrid of more than one species.) In France, Louis Bouschet and, later, his son Henri did it even before the arrival of phylloxera from the other side of the Atlantic that devastated the vineyards. of Europe at the end of the 19th century, which made the work of hybridizers more urgent.

Vinifera vines, already victims of downy fungal diseases and powdery mildew (which, like phylloxera, were inadvertently imported on transatlantic steamships), proved disastrously susceptible to this North American vine root-muncher. Perhaps it would have been logical to replace them wholesale with resistant North American varieties, but that would hardly have found favor with the European wine establishment, especially since the wine made from many of them tasted very different from European wine, with a slightly rancid aroma that sometimes It is often found in American grape juice.

Finally, and not without considerable objections, a solution to the phylloxera crisis was found: grafting vinifera vines onto American rootstocks, preserving European flavors and characteristics. These grafted vines are responsible for the vast majority of wine made today throughout the wine world.

Early European hybridizers of European and American varieties tended to grow vines for productivity rather than wine quality. This, of course, gave hybrids a bad name and the controlled appellation regulations of the early 20th century specifically banned them in these superior wines. hybrid became a dirty word associated with the type of cheap drink that the poor drank (in quantity) in the 20th century.

A new century has brought new challenges. And, thanks to climate change, entirely new wine regions. Vineyards are currently mushrooming throughout Scandinavia, Poland and the Baltics, but experience a much shorter growing season than vineyards further south. That is why they need vine varieties that withstand harsh winters, sprout later and mature earlier than traditional European varieties. Genes of Vitis amurensisa species of vine capable of withstanding Mongolian winters, may be especially useful in this case.

The climate of northern Europe is also relatively humid, which dramatically increases the risk of fungal diseases. Enter Rondo and the even more disease-resistant, dark-skinned Regent hybrids, developed in Germany in the 1960s. They are currently grown for red wines in Scandinavia, Benelux, Britain and Germany, where there are almost 2,000 hectares of Regent. At a time when the weather is becoming less predictable and consumers are less enthusiastic about agrochemicals, varieties that are naturally disease-resistant and require much less spraying seem to be the answer.

But EU wine policymakers had a problem. Hybrids, no longer plagued by unpleasant flavors, were still officially considered inferior. Regulations had to be changed to allow these new varieties (not officially known as hybrids but as “disease-resistant varieties”) in designation of origin wines.

Examples already especially popular in Scandinavia include Phoenix, bred in Germany in 1964 and the first disease-resistant variety approved for quality wine production, in 1992. Solaris, bred in 1975, has also been widely planted in the far north. . in Europe, while Souvignier Gris, another German hybrid, seems to be gaining ground not only in Germany but also in France.

How will consumers accept all these new names? Last August, Tesco introduced its first wine made exclusively from one of these disease-resistant varieties: a light, floral £8 white that had the audacity to call Tesco Finest Floréal, after the hybrid from which it is made. Floréal vines, currently grown in the Languedoc and Loire, were launched for commercial production in 2018 and much is made of the vine’s resistance to downy mildew and black rot, the latter a particular threat in humid climates. Despite the unfamiliar (but certainly pretty cute) name, initial sales have apparently been strong.

There are pockets of wine production around the world, especially in North America, but also in Brazil, Japan, Russia and Crimea, where hybrids have long been cultivated and whose local consumers have become accustomed to their names, perhaps without know or care that they are hybrids. , free of European prejudices. Eastern Canada used to be much colder than it is now and hybrids such as Baco Noir, Maréchal Foch and especially Vidal Blanc have been delighting wine producers and drinkers for many years. The Crescent, La Crosse, Marquette and Traminette, bred in the Midwest, have proven popular in some parts of the United States.

Until recently, new varieties in France, mainly from Montpellier and more recently from Bordeaux, tended to be exclusively vinifera crosses, such as Caladoc and Marselan, rather than hybrids of two different species. The French have been relatively slow to develop disease-resistant hybrids and so far only Floréal, Voltis, Selenor and Oplaor have been approved for white wine production and Artaban, Vidoc, Coliris, Lilaro and Silano for red wines. Note that these names are not related to any famous grape names, unlike Traminette, for example, which sounds similar to Gewürztraminer. French lobbyists are apparently trying to prevent any new variety from being named after a well-known grape, no matter how closely related it may be.

The Italians have been more creative. The famous Rauscedo nursery in northeastern Italy has been an active breeder of disease-resistant vines, giving them (registered) names like Cabernet Volos, Pinot Kors and Sauvignon Nepis (which, I was told in New Zealand, was being considered by Cloudy Bay ). ), all of these names refer to the established vinifera variety that was hybridized. Surely these names will be easier to sell to a traditional wine-drinking public than Artaban and Vidoc, which sound more suitable for a pharmacy.

Recently, in a vineyard in the cool, humid climate of Denmark, I was able to compare the performance of the spindly, yellow-leaved Riesling vinifera with the healthy, lush, bright green, photosynthesis-promoting leaves of the weather-resistant Phoenix. diseases, planted in the next row. However, viticulturist Søren Hartvig Jensen of the Kelleris winery told me that Solaris was already showing a dangerous lack of resistance to some fungal diseases, highlighting the need for breeders to always be alert to new threats to the health of the crop. vine.

Jensen reported that in Denmark alone they are researching 40 new varieties, and over the next 10 years they will choose those that pollinate well and will produce the best wine, a fairly important consideration.

Tasting notes, ratings and suggested drink dates in the Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com. International distributors in winesearch.com

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