JACQUÈRE
Savoie speciality producing fresh, light, mountain whites.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Cugnette (Isère), Jacquerre, Jaquère, Martin-Cot (La Rochette in Savoie), Molette de Montmélian, Plant des Abîmes or Plant des Abymes de Myans (Chambéry), Raisin des Abîmes, Redin, Robinet (Conflans in Savoie), Roussette (Montmélian)
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR JACQUÈRE: ALTESSE * (Montmélian), MOLETTE * (Montmélian), ROUSSETTE D’AYZE * (Savoie)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Jacquère is the most important white wine variety of Savoie in eastern France. According to Rougier (1903), Jacquère was first mentioned by Fleury Lacoste under the name Redin in 1855. However, this mention is doubtful because a few years later the same Fleury Lacoste (1861) says that Redin is also called Sarvagnin, which undoubtedly corresponds to SAVAGNIN in Savoie (Galet 1990). Therefore, the first occurrence of the name Jacquère is more likely to be the one found in Pierre Tochon’s 1868 description of the vineyard in the hilly area known as Abîmes de Myans (Rézeau 1997): ‘le cépage qui recouvre ces blocs énormes de calcaire . . . s’appelle Jacquère, martin-cot et raisin des Abymes’ (‘the variety that covers these huge blocks of limestone . . . is called Jacquère, martin-cot and raisin des Abymes’). According to Rougier (1903), this variety was supposedly named after the person who introduced it to Savoie in the thirteenth century, but although both Jacquère and Jacquerre do exist as family names in France, they are not common in this area. Jacquère is a member of the Pelorsien ampelographic group (see p XXVII).
DNA parentage analysis suggested that Jacquère is one of the numerous natural progenies of GOUAIS BLANC (Boursiquot et al. 2004; see PINOT pedigree diagram).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Very productive, hence its synonym Robinet (meaning ‘tap’). Early budding, mid to late ripening. Best pruned short. Well suited to clay-limestone and rocky soils. Susceptible to black rot and botrytis bunch rot but more resistant to downy and powdery mildews.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
On its home territory in Savoie, eastern France, Jacquère produces light, fresh, lightly scented, mostly dry, alpine wines for drinking young, sometimes with a light spritz. Jacquère is authorized for the Vin de Savoie and Bugey appellations but is also officially recommended in the Ain and Isère départements to the west. The most flavourful wines tend to come from the crus of Apremont and Abymes, where Jacquère must constitute at least 80% of the vineyard for whites, as it does in Jongieux. It has also been planted further south west, in Condrieu in the northern Rhône, although it is not entitled to that appellation. Total plantings in France in 2009, predominantly in Savoie, were a fairly stable 1,027 ha (2,538 acres).
Recommended producers of varietal wines include Didier et Denis Berthollier (Chignin), Domaine Frédéric Giachino (Apremont), Domaine Grisard (Fréterive), Domaine de l’Idylle (Cruet) and André et Michel Quenard (Chignin). Domaine Jean Masson et Fils in Apremont make a range of single-vineyard wines with good ageing potential.
It is also planted to a very limited extent in Portugal (3 ha/7 acres in 2009).
JACQUEZ
Once-popular American hybrid with good resistance to Pierce’s disease and now surviving mainly in Brazil and Texas.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Black Spanish (Texas in US), Cigar Box (US), French Grape (US), Jacquet (Cévennes in France), Lenoir (US), Longworth’s Ohio (US), Troya (Australia)
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR JACQUEZ: LISTÁN PRIETO (US)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
The origin of this variety is obscure and disputed. It is said to be a member of Vitis bourquiniana, a botanically dubious group of Vitis aestivalis × Vitis vinifera hybrids (see HERBEMONT for details).
Jacquez possibly originates from around the town of New Bordeaux in McCormick County, close to the Savannah River, which divides South Carolina from Georgia. Native Vitis aestivalis vines were growing here and French Huguenots, most of whom had settled in the region between 1730 and 1780, had introduced European Vitis vinifera varieties. The Huguenots were experienced vine growers and probably selected this chance seedling because it was more resistant to diseases than their European varieties. It was then apparently taken to Natchez in Mississippi, by a Spaniard called Jacques, hence the name Jacquez. It is often known as Lenoir in the United States, after the county of that name in South Carolina.
OTHER HYPOTHESES
Some sources suggest that Jacquez was brought from France under the name Blue French by the Bourquin family around 1750, but this hypothesis in not convincing (see HERBEMONT). Others have said that it was introduced from the island of Madeira, where it is still grown today, by an unknown sailor who transported it in a cigar box that was handed to Nicholas Longworth – shoemaker, millionaire banker and horticulturist sometimes referred to as the ‘father of American grape culture’ – in Cincinnati, Ohio, hence two of its synonyms, Cigar Box and Longworth’s Ohio. It is more likely that Jacquez was taken to Madeira by settlers who did not stay in the US but returned to their homeland. It is very unlikely that it originates from Madeira, because this presupposes that the Vitis aestivalis × Vitis vinifera hybridization that generated Jacquez took place on Madeira, which is unlikely for chronological reasons (see HERBEMONT).
Jacquez and LISTÁN PRIETO (known as Mission in the United States) share the synonym Black Spanish but should not be confused.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Large to medium-sized loose bunches of very dark, red-fleshed berries. Mid ripening, moderately vigorous and productive. Tolerates Pierce’s disease but is susceptible to black rot, downy mildew and summer bunch rot. Best in deep sandy soils.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Jacquez was at one time popular in southern France, used mainly in blends from the end of the nineteenth to the middle of the twentieth century (it was even authorized for Châteauneuf-du-Pape until 1935), but new plantings of this and other hybrids such as ISABELLA were proscribed in the mid 1930s and existing vineyards compulsorily grubbed up (with compensation) in the 1950s. However, some centenarian vines still exist in the Cévennes, known here as Jacquet, and their fruit constitutes the main ingredient in the Cuvée des Vignes d’Antan produced by the Association Mémoire de la Vigne, which cannot legally be sold within the EU because of its hybrid component. They also produce a varietal Cuvée Le Jacquet.
Once widely planted in Texas for the purposes of communion wine, the red-fleshed Jacquez – under the name Lenoir or Black Spanish – is still grown there to a limited extent: 130 acres (53 ha) in 2008. The bearing acreage has more than doubled since 2005 thanks to the variety’s marked resistance to Pierce’s disease, which is a serious problem in the heat and humidity of the state. It is used for the production of both Texas port-style wines and table wines with the former more typical today, showing the spicy black fruit characteristics typical of the variety. Producers of varietal table wines include Chisholm Trail, Dry Comal Creek and Inwood.
The variety’s surest stronghold is Brazil, where there were 1,397 ha (3,452 acres) in 2007 in Rio Grande do Sul. It is used mainly for juice, jelly and the inexpensive, slightly sweet red wines popular on the domestic market.
The variety is sometimes used as a rootstock but its resistance to phylloxera is only moderate so that it is restricted to sandy soils or to those areas where phylloxera is so far unknown.
JAEN or JAEN DU DÃO
See MENCÍA.
JAÉN BLANCO
See CAYETANA BLANCA.
JAÉN TINTO
See MENCÍA.
JAMPAL
Minor Portuguese vine recognized for its quality but not widely planted.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Cercial * (Pinhel in Dão), Jampaulo, João Paolo, Pinheira Branca *
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR JAMPAL: CERCEAL BRANCO * (Dão), SÍRIA *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Jampal probably originates in Portugal’s Colares region north west of Lisboa, whence it spread north to the rest of the Lisboa region and Beiras and east to the Tejo. Recent DNA profiling has suggested a possible sibling relationship with the widely planted black-berried CASTELÃO from the Douro (Myles et al. 2011).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Average but irregular yields. Mid budding, mid to late ripening. Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot, coulure and powdery mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Jampal, authorized in a whole host of regional and DOC appellations from Setúbal and Lisboa in the west up to the Douro in the north east of Portugal, produces full-bodied, perfumed wines but has not been widely planted despite its potential quality. Biomanz produce a varietal wine within the Lisboa region. There were 106 ha (262 acres) in Portugal in 2010.
JOHANNITER
Recent German hybrid with very good disease resistance.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Freiburg 177-68
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Complex self-crossed hybrid bred in 1968 by Johannes Zimmerman at the Freiburg research centre in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany, by crossing RIESLING × Freiburg 589-54 with itself, where:
– Freiburg 589-54 is a Seyve-Villard 12-481 × Freiburg 153-39 hybrid (see HELIOS for the complete Seyve-Villard 12-481 pedigree)
– Freiburg 153-39 is a PINOT GRIS × CHASSELAS cross.
It was named in honour of Johannes Carpenter, former director of the Freiburg research centre.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
High yields that necessitate bunch thinning. Generally good disease resistance, particularly to powdery mildew. Mid to late ripening.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Authorized in Germany in 2001, where there are now 65 ha (161 acres), mainly in Baden and Rheinhessen. Wines are fresh and lightly aromatic in the citrus/grapefruit spectrum, sometimes a little bitter on the finish, although this can be overcome with a few grams of residual sugar. Producers of varietal wines include Clemens Lang, Schlossgut Hohenbeilstein and Zähringer in Baden, Anselmann in the Pfalz, Weingut Im Hagenbüchle in Baden-Württemberg and Zang in Franken.
It is found to a very limited extent (about 10 ha/25 acres) in Switzerland, where Hasenheide, for example, produce a varietal wine south east of Zürich. It is also grown in Belgium by Domaine Viticole du Chenoy and was authorized in Italy in 2011.
JUAN GARCÍA
Intriguing, perfumed speciality of north-western Spain.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Gorda * (Coimbra in central Portugal), Malvasía * Negra, Mouratón * (Galicia), Negrera * (Bierzo), Negrón de Aldán * (Bierzo), Nepada, Tinta Gorda (Dão and Douro in Portugal), Villarino
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR JUAN GARCÍA: ARAMON NOIR * (Languedoc-Roussillon in France), MENCÍA * (Bierzo), TEMPRANILLO *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Juan García is said to come from the Los Arribes del Duero national park in western Spain along the River Duero that forms the border with Portugal. The origin of its name is unknown. DNA parentage analysis has recently revealed that Juan García (under the synonym Mouratón) is a natural cross between CAYETANA BLANCA, widespread throughout the south and centre of the Iberian peninsula, and ALFROCHEIRO from the south or centre of Portugal (Zinelabidine et al. 2012). Juan García is therefore a sibling of CORNIFESTO, MALVASIA PRETA, CASTELÃO and CAMARATE (see Cayetana Blanca for the pedigree diagram).
Although both Juan García and PETIT BOUSCHET are sometimes called Negrón de Aldán (González-Andrés et al. 2007), they are not related. Juan García and MALVASIA NERA DI BRINDISI share the synonym Malvasía Negra but should not be confused.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Highish yields, susceptible to botrytis bunch rot and powdery mildew. Early ripening (especially when planted near the river) and grapes often shrivel when ripe, giving higher sugar levels in the berries.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Juan García is a speciality of the Fermoselle area in the province of Zamora, western Spain, west of Toro and just upstream from Portugal’s Douro Valley, where it is sometimes blended with the Portuguese variety RUFETE. It is one of the principal dark-skinned varieties of the Arribes DO. Originally planted on the rocky slopes down to the Duero, it has since spread to flatter sites and now comprises more than half of the region’s vineyard area with a total of 1,260 ha (3,114 acres) in 2008, mostly in Castilla y León but also further north in Galicia. Producers of varietal wines include Almajora, Bodega Ribera de Pelazas, La Setera and Terrazgo. Old vines planted on the best sites generally produce wines that are deeply coloured and highly perfumed with herbal and red-fruit flavours and moderate alcohol.
In northern Portugal, it is know as Gorda (Tinta Gorda until 2000) and is grown predominantly in the Trás-os-Montes and Beiras regions (Rolando Faustino, personal communication), where it produces early-drinking wines that are relatively low in alcohol and have simple red-fruit aromas. There were 77 ha (190 acres) in Portugal in 2010.
JUAN IBÁÑEZ
See MORISTEL.
JUBILÄUMSREBE
Austrian cross best suited to very sweet whites.
Berry colour: grey and pink
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
This variety was obtained in 1922 by Fritz Zweigelt at the Klosterneuburg research centre in Austria and was initially named Klosterneuburg 24-125. It got its modern name in 1960 when it was presented as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations (Jubiläum in German) of the institute of Klosterneuburg. Fritz Zweigelt declared Jubiläumsrebe to be a BLAUER PORTUGIESER × BLAUFRÄNKISCH cross.
This crossing of two dark-berried cultivars giving birth to a white-berried cultivar was a little bit surprising, but nobody really questioned what Zweigelt had said until 1998, when Austrian researchers discovered through DNA paternity tests that Jubiläumsrebe is in fact a FRÜHROTER VELTLINER × Grauer Portugieser cross (Sefc, Steinkellner et al. 1998). Although it is impossible to distinguish BLAUER PORTUGIESER from Grauer or Grüner Portugieser by DNA typing (they are the result of clonal mutations affecting berry colour), researchers found clues that the clone used by Zweigelt was very likely Grauer Portugieser. Indeed, the original vineyard where Zweigelt did the crossings was destroyed during the Second World War, and the remaining plants might have been misidentified. In the 1920s, Zweigelt reported several Blauer Portugieser × BLAUFRÄNKISCH crosses, and one single cross between Grauer Portugieser and Frühroter Veltliner: this has to be Jubiläumsrebe.
In support of this parentage, crosses between Jubiläumsrebe and RIESLING (white berries) yield progenies with white as well as grey and red berries, which supports its descent from Grauer Portugieser (grey berries) and FRÜHROTER VELTLINER (pink berries). As a consequence, Jubiläumsrebe is a grandchild of ROTER VELTLINER and SILVANER, the parents of Frühroter Veltliner.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid to late ripening, very good botrytis tolerance and able to reach high sugar levels through dehydration.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
There are just 26 ha (64 acres) planted in Austria, mainly in the Neusiedlersee region in the far east of the country, where it is particularly suited to sweet Stroh- and Schilfweine (made from grapes dried on straw or reeds) thanks to the high sugar levels it can obtain even without the influence of botrytis. It is generally used as part of a blend since it is not particularly aromatic and has low acidity but M & M Kögl produce a varietal TBA.
JUHFARK
Minor Hungarian variety that needs ageing and aeration to swap asperity for elegance.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Lämmerschwanz
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR JUHFARK: Csomorika *
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Juhfark, meaning ‘sheep’s tail’ and referring to the long cylindrical shape of the bunches, is an old variety from Hungary whose ampelographic identity is still unclear because Juhfark reference samples in Varga et al. (2008), Galbács et al. (2009) and Jahnke et al. (2009) have yielded three distinct DNA profiles.
It should not be confused with Csomorika, a very old but no longer cultivated mediocre Hungarian variety from the Baranya region in southern Hungary (Galbács 2009) which in the past was mistakenly planted instead of Juhfark by growers in Somló (Rohály et al. 2003).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Early budding, mid ripening, relatively high yields. Big bunches of small berries. Sensitive to low winter temperatures and susceptible to downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Once grown quite widely in Hungary, this distinctive variety is now found almost exclusively in Somló, north of Lake Balaton in the west of the country. It’s perhaps the least modern or internationally appealing of Hungarian varieties, producing relatively neutral, high-acid, sometimes rustic but ageworthy wines that need time in barrel and plenty of aeration to become more elegant and admirable. Recommended producers include Imre Györgykovács, Inhauser, Kreinbacher, Meinklang (based over the border in Austria), Somlói Apátsági Pince and Tornai. There were 156 ha (385 acres) of Juhfark in Hungary in 2008.
JURANÇON BLANC
Inferior and increasingly neglected variety traditionally used as a base for spirits.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Braquet (Landes), Dame Blanc (Lot-et-Garonne), Plant de Dame, Plant Debout (Sables d’Olonne), Quillat or Quillard (Gers), Secal (Tarn)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Despite its name, Jurançon Blanc has no connection with the Jurançon appellation, although it was supposedly named after the commune of Jurançon in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, south-west France, where it allegedly originated. However, the birthplace of Jurançon Blanc is more likely to be in the Tarn-et-Garonne, north east of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, where it was first mentioned in 1839 under the name Jurançon (in Moissac) and under the name Plant de Dame or Quillat (in Auvillar; Rézeau 1997).
Jurançon Blanc is not a colour mutation of JURANÇON NOIR, even though both are members of the Folle ampelographic group (see p XXVII; Bisson 2009). DNA parentage analysis at INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) in Montpellier has shown that Jurançon Blanc is most likely a progeny of Folle Blanche and the obscure white-berried French variety Pruéras (no longer cultivated).
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening. May be pruned short. Small bunches and berries. Very susceptible to downy mildew and botrytis bunch rot.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
The wines tend to be low in alcohol, acidic and generally poor quality, which, along with its susceptibility to fungal diseases, probably accounts for the variety’s decline in France in the last fifty years – from 5,755 ha (14,221 acres) in 1958 down to 12 ha (30 acres) in 2006 – and for its traditional destination: armagnac or cognac.
JURANÇON NOIR
South-west French variety producing light wines but rapidly losing ground.
Berry colour: black
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Chalosse Noire (Lavilledieu in Tarn-et-Garonne), Dame Noire or Plant de Dame (Lot), Enrageat Noir (Gironde), Fola Belcha (País Vasco in Spain), Folle Noire or Folle Rouge (Lot-et-Garonne), Gouni (Hautes-Alpes), Jurançon Rouge (Dordogne), Luxuriant (Aveyron), Piquepout Rouge (Landes), Quillat or Quillard (Gers), Vidiella (Uruguay)
VARIETIES COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR JURANÇON NOIR: CALITOR NOIR *, FUELLA NERA * (called Folle Noire in Bellet)
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
Although this variety is not related to the Jurançon appellation, it was supposedly named after the commune of Jurançon in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the far south west of France, where it allegedly originated (Rézeau 1997). However, Galet (1990) locates its birthplace in the area of Agen, between Toulouse and Bordeaux in the Lot-et-Garonne, which is consistent with its first mention, by Comte Odart, in 1837: ‘le nom de Jurançon noir qui servait d’étiquette à un paquet de sarments qui m’a été envoyé du département de Lot-et-Garonne’ (‘the name Jurançon noir that was used as a label for a bunch of vinestocks that was sent to me from the Lot-et-Garonne département’; Rézeau 1997). Although they share the synonym Folle Noire, Jurançon Noir and FUELLA NERA are distinct varieties that belong to the Folle ampelographic group (see p XXVII; Bisson 2009). DNA parentage analysis at INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) in Montpellier has recently shown that Jurançon Noir is a natural FOLLE BLANCHE × COT cross (Viollet and Boursiquot 2009; see CABERNET SAUVIGNON and PINOT pedigree diagrams).
Jurançon Noir was used to breed CHENANSON, GANSON and SEGALIN.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening, fertile and productive and needs to be pruned short (bushvine). Susceptible to botrytis bunch rot but not to diseases of the wood.
WHERE IT’S GROWN AND WHAT ITS WINE TASTES LIKE
Wines are light with very moderate levels of alcohol and colour, best suited to rosé or lighter styles of red. Plantings in France have diminished dramatically in the last fifty years, down from 12,325 ha (30,456 acres) in 1958 to 708 ha (1,750 acres) in 2009, mostly in the Tarn and the Gers. It is authorized in appellations such as Vins d’Estaing and Vins d’Entraygues et du Fel.
Jurançon Noir was introduced to Uruguay in the 1870s under the name Folle Noire by Francisco Vidiella and it was known as Vidiella until the mid 1980s. However, most of the old vineyards have gone and in 2007 less than a hectare (2.5 acres) remained of what is now known as Jurançon Noir.
JUWEL
Modern German cross with patchy disease resistance.
Berry colour: white
PRINCIPAL SYNONYMS: Jewel, Weinsberg S 378
ORIGINS AND PARENTAGE
A KERNER × SILVANER cross bred in 1951 by August Herold at Weinsberg. Expanding the pedigree, Juwel is a grandchild of SCHIAVA GROSSA and RIESLING (parents of Kerner) as well as of SAVAGNIN and ÖSTERREICHISCH WEISS (parents of Silvaner). The name Juwel is a contraction of three parts: JU in honour of the vine breeder Josef Schäffer, nicknamed Jupp; WE is the official abbreviation of the Weinsberg research centre; and L for Lauffen am Neckar, the location of the research centre.
VITICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mid ripening. High must weights and moderate acidity. Resistant to downy mildew but very susceptible to powdery mildew.
WHERE IT’S GROWN
Germany has 25 ha (62 acres), largely in Rheinhessen, but the area is gradually declining. Producers include Görgen in the Mosel and Umbrich in Württemberg.