Wine
description |
similar
to sherry |
Food
pairing |
walnuts
and comte cheese |
Origin |
The
Alps |
Notable
regions |
Jura,
France |
Notable
wine(s) |
Vin
jaune, vin de paille --Château-Chalon |
History
The history
of Savagnin is complicated, and not helped by its rather unstable
genome. The story starts with the ancient Traminer variety,
a green-skinned grape recorded in the Tyrolean village of Tramin
(Termeno) from ca. 1000 until the 16th century (this region
now encompasses the Italian province of Bolzano-Bozen). The
famous ampelographer Pierre Galet thought that Traminer was
identical to the green-skinned Savagnin Blanc in the Jura.[1]
More recently it has been suggested that Savagnin Blanc acquired
slight differences in its leaf shape and geraniol content[2]
as it travelled to the other end of the Alps. Frankisch in Austria,
Heida in Switzerland, Formentin in Hungary and Grumin from Bohemia
are all very similar to Savagnin Blanc and probably represent
clones of the Traminer family, if not Traminer itself. The Viognier
of the Rhone Valley may be a more distant relative of Savagnin
Blanc.
At some
point, either Traminer or Savagnin Blanc mutated into a form
with pink-skinned berries, called Red Traminer or Savagnin Rose.
Galet believed that a musqué ('muscat-like') mutation in the
Red Traminer/Savagnin Rose then led to the extra-aromatic Gewürztraminer,
although in Germany these names are all regarded as synonymous.
With these
convoluted genetics happening in the area that has been the
front line for a millennium of wars in Europe, it's maybe not
surprising that vines have been misnamed. Given that the wine
made from 'Gewürztraminer' in Germany can be much less aromatic
than that in Alsace, some of the German vines may well be misidentified
Savagnin Rose. The Baden vineyard of Durbach claims its own
type of Red Traminer called Durbacher Clevner (not to be confused
with "Klevner", an Austrian synonym for Pinot Blanc). The story
goes that in 1780 Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden brought
vines from Chiavenna in Italy, halfway between Tramin and the
Jura, which was known to the Germans as Cleven.
The Klevener
de Heiligenstein or Heiligensteiner Klevener found around Heiligenstein
in Alsace may represent an outpost of the Durbach vines. They
are often described as a less aromatic form of Gewürztraminer,
which sounds just like the Red Traminer! The varieties Aubin
Blanc and the Champagne grape Petit Meslier are probably the
result of a cross between Gouais Blanc and Savagnin Blanc.
France
Savagnin
Blanc is mostly grown in the Jura. In 2007, total French plantations
of the variety stood at 472 hectares (1,170 acres).[3] It is
most famous as the only grape allowed in the vin jaunes of Château-Chalon
and L'Étoile, similar to fino sherry with a covering of flor
but not fortified and without the use of the solera system.
Savagnin is blended with Chardonnay to make a conventional dry
white wine in L'Étoile and Côtes du Jura, the fortified Macvin
du Jura, a sparkling wine called Crémant du Jura It is also
blended into Côtes du Jura vin de paille, a dessert wine [4]
made from grapes left to dry on straw. The Gringet of Savoie
has no link with Savagnin Blanc[5].
Vine and
viticultureSavagnin Blanc is very late ripening, and may be
picked as late as December. Like its cousin Gewürztraminer,
it is a temperamental grape to grow, with low yields at the
end of it.
See Also:
Home
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of Wine
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of Wines
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The
Science of Wine Aroma
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in Wines
The Basic Wine Pairing Rules
Science of Food and Wine
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in Wine
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Wine Tasting
Wine
Tasting Terms
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of Wine
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of Wine
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Headaches
from Wine
About
a Wine Sommelier
References
-
winepros.com.au. Oxford Companion
to Wine. "Savagnin". http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=2872.
- Scienza, A; Villa,P; Gianazza,E; Mattivi,F & Versini,G
(18 May 1990). "La Caratterizzazione Genetica Del Traminer". Gewuerztraminer,
Traminer Aromatico. Symposium in Bolzano, Italy.
- Viniflhor stats 2008: Les cepages blanc dans le vignoble
-
url = http://www.desertwine.com/
- http://www.berthomeau.com/article-le-gringet-un-quasi-monopole-savoyard-de-dominique-belluard-vigneron-d-ayze-37799369.html