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Chenin Blanc

The white grape variety originates from France. There are 80 synonyms that testify to the vine's great age and worldwide distribution. The most important, grouped alphabetically by country, are Anjou, Blanc d'Anjou, Blanc d'Aunis, Blanc Emery, Bon Blanc, Canton, Capbreton Blanc, Chenin, Confort, Cugnette, Cruchinet, Cugnette, Franc Blanc, Gamay Blanc, Gros Chenin, Gros Pineau, Gros Pineau de Vouvray, Mançais Blanc, Pineau Blanc, Pineau d'Anjou, Pineau de Briollay, Pineau de la Loire, Pineau de Savennières, Pineau de Vouvray, Pineau Vert, Pinot de la Loire, Pinot Gros de Vouvray, Plant d'Anjou, Plant de Breze, Plant de Clair de Lune, Plant de Maille, Plant de Salces, Que Fort, Rajoulain, Ronchalin, Rouchalin, Rouchelin, Rouchelein, Rougelin, Rouxalin, Verdurant (France); Chenin Bijeli (Croatia); Chenin Beli (Slovenia); Agudelo, Agudillo, Blanco Legítimo (Spain); Steen, Vaalblaar Stein (South Africa); Fehér Chenin (Hungary); White Pinot (USA). It must not be confused with the two varieties Albillo Real or Verdelho, despite seemingly suggestive synonyms or morphological similarities.

It is not a colour mutation of the red variety Pineau d'Aunis (Chenin Noir). According to DNA analyses last carried out in 2018, it originates from a presumably natural cross between Savagnin (Traminer) x unknown partner. Direct descendants through natural crosses with Gouais Blanc are Balzac Blanc, Colombard and Meslier Saint-François. Chenin Blanc was also a crossing partner of the new varieties Chenel, Therona Riesling and Weldra. It is said to have been mentioned as early as the 9th century. The first mention under the name Plant d'Anjou was in 1496, when Thomas Bohier bought vineyards from Château Chenonceau in Indre-et-Loire, which were planted with it, among others. The later name Chenin Blanc was given after the monastery of Mont-Chenin near Cormery, from where it spread to the Touraine area. It was also mentioned by the Franciscan monk François Rabelais (1495-1553) in 1534 in his work "Gargantua and Pantagruel" and the wine was described as a "gentil vin blanc" with healing properties.

Chenin Blanc - Weintraube und Blatt

The medium-ripening vine is very susceptible to botrytis and powdery mildew, vulnerable to late frost due to its early flowering and susceptible to various wood diseases caused by fungi. It produces acidic white wines with aromas of honey and apples, which are excellent for sparkling wine production and distillation. Due to its susceptibility to botrytis, it is also often used for noble sweet wines. With appropriate yield restriction and maturation, it can also produce very good qualities with ageing potential and belongs to the extended circle of the world's best grape varieties, the so-called Cépages nobles. In the New World, the tasty berries make it a popular choice for table grape.

In France, it occupies 9,432 hectares of vineyards, with a declining trend (at the end of the 1950s, there were ~16,500 hectares). The largest areas are in the départements of Maine-et-Loire around Angers (~5,000 ha) and Indre-et-Lore around Tours (~3,000 ha). Here, the variety is permitted in the Loire appellations of Anjou, Bonnezeaux, Crémant de Loire, Quarts de Chaume, Saumur, Savennières, Touraine and Vouvray. Other European growing countries are Italy (7 ha), Switzerland (8 ha), Spain (106 ha) and Hungary (6 ha). In South Africa, it was introduced as early as 1655 by the governor and viticultural pioneer Jan van Riebeeck (1619-1677) and became immensely popular in that country. There, under the name Steen, it is the most common variety with 17,707 hectares. The largest quantities are in the Paarl, Malmesbury and Olifants River areas. The variety, which is particularly well suited to South African conditions, is the basis for distillates and high-quality white wines here.

There are further areas under cultivation in the countries Argentina mainly in the Mendoza area (2,157 ha), Ethiopia (54 ha), Australia (406 ha), Brazil (7 ha), Chile (39 ha), China, India, Canada (6 ha), Mexico (275 ha), Myanmar, New Zealand (24 ha), Thailand (16 ha), Peru (2 ha) and Uruguay (2 ha), as well as in the USA in the states of California with the largest share, New York, Texas and Washington (1,969 ha). In 2016, a total of 32,221 hectares of vineyards were reported, with a downward trend. The variety is thus in 29th place in the global grape variety ranking (Kym Anderson statistics).

Source: Wine Grapes / J. Robinson, J. Harding, J. Vouillamoz / Penguin Books Ltd. 2012
Images: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)

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