VinoLoverResponsible for some of the most refined white wines we know – with their different profiles, whether aromatic and fragrant, light and crisp or deep and mineral – France’s white grape varieties are the real stars behind many of the amazing bottles in our catalogue.
Here’s everything you need to know about France’s main white grape varieties.
A shared history
The truth is that white grape varieties are not native to a specific French region. Before phylloxera, as in the rest of Europe, vineyards were planted with a wide variety of white and red grapes, with different ripening cycles, which were progressively selected according to their yield.
However, in the second half of the 19th century, phylloxera wiped out all the plantations that had existed up to that time, and forced the use of grafted vines with American rootstock. This allowed each region to choose from scratch which varieties to cultivate, depending on different factors, such as yield or production volume.
Since then, the vineyard map of France has taken shape, with a much narrower range of varieties. As for white grape varieties, they account for one third of the French vineyard surface.
White wine regions
Northern France, especially Burgundy, Loire and Alsace, are characterised by the production of high quality dry and single-varietal white wines, due to the fact that their cooler climatic conditions are much more favourable to the cultivation of white varieties than in other areas located further south, such as the Southwest, the Rhône Valley, Languedoc Roussillon and Provence. Another region that stands out for the production of exclusive white wines is Bordeaux.
White grapes from France
The Ugni Blanc variety, which in Italy is known as Trebbiano Toscano, is native to that country, although it is the most widely planted grape in France. The rest of the outstanding white grapes are native, such as the legendary and world-renowned Chardonnay, responsible for some of the best dry white wines and also sparkling wines.
It is the emblematic variety of Burgundy, although its great adaptability allows it to grow in many other very different regions, such as Languedoc or the Jura, except for Bordeaux, where its production is directly prohibited. As for the Jura, its star variety is Savagnin, which originates from there.
Another widespread variety in the French territory is the Sauvignon Blanc, mainly in Bordeaux and in the Loire region. In the latter, other of the most used varieties for the production of white wines are Muscadet and Chenin Blanc, which is used not only for dry white wines, but also for sweet and sparkling wines.
If we go to the border between France and Germany, in Alsace, the predominant white variety is Riesling, which offers much drier, lighter and crisp wines. On the other hand, if we look at the Southwest region, where we can find a large volume of white wine production, two varieties stand out, Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng.
Finally, in the Rhone Valley region, we find Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne in the north, and Grenache Blanc as the main variety in the south.
VinoLover
Claudio Comella
