The white grape variety originates from France. The name means "bright white" or "shiny" and refers to the white hairs on the underside of the leaves. Synonyms are Blanc Laffite, Blanquette, Blanquette de Limoux, Blanquette du Midi, Clairet, Clairette Blanche, Clairette de Limoux, Clairette Pouchudo, Clarette Pounchudo, Clairette Verte, Clarette, Fehér Clairette, Gaillard Blanc, Kleret, Klaret Belyi, Muscade, Oeillade Blanche, Osianka, Osyanka, Petit Blanc, Petit Kleret, Pignola Bianca, Uva Gijona, Vivsianka, Vivsyanca and Vivsyanka. It must not be confused with the Bourboulenc (Clairette à Grains Ronds), Picardan or Piquepoul Bl anc varieties, despite seemingly suggestive synonyms. The parentage (parentage) is unknown. According to DNA analyses, there is a close genetic relationship to the Plant Droit variety. The Spanish variety Picapoll Blanco is possibly identical. It was also a parent of the varieties Malmasie and Téoulier Blanc, which were created by natural crossing. There may also be a relationship with the Piedmontese variety Erbaluce. There is also a variety Clairette Rose. Confusingly, Clairette is also a component of many other French grape varieties.
Clairette is one of the oldest French grape varieties, probably originating from the Hérault department in Languedoc. The first reliable mention of it was in 1575 as Clarette. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was a component of the popular white wine "Picardin" (not to be confused with the grape variety Picardan). It was also popular for the production of Vermouth. The late-maturing vine is susceptible to mites, grape berry moth and downy mildew, but resistant to botrytis and powdery mildew. It is well suited to poor, dry soils. The vine produces high-alcohol, rather low-acid white wines. These are mainly used as blends and for sparkling wine production.
The variety is permitted in numerous appellations in the south of France. It is the main ingredient in Clairette de Bellegarde, Clairette de Die, Clairette du Languedoc and Crémant de Die. Other appellations are Bandol, Bellet, Cassis, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Costières de Nîmes, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, Côtes de Provence, Côtes du Rhône, Gigondas, Les Baux-de-Provence, Lirac, Palette, Tavel, Vacqueyras and Ventoux. It is also used for country wines in the Languedoc. The area has been extremely reduced from 15,000 hectares at the end of the 1950s to 2042 hectares. There are other stocks in Australia (0.5 ha), Italy in Tuscany and Sardinia (25 ha), Morocco (113 ha), Russia (22 ha), South Africa (195 ha) and Tunisia (22 ha). In 2016, a total of 2,420 hectares of vineyards were designated (Kym Anderson).
Source: Wine Grapes / J. Robinson, J. Harding, J. Vouillamoz / Penguin Books Ltd. 2012.
Images: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI)
