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Valdiguié
Although conflicting claims cloud its true origin, valdiguié
was first commercially propagated in 1884. Praised and prized in the for both
its high productivity and natural resistance
to powdery mildew (oïdium), vine growers planted it widely throughout Southwestern France. Known
there also as gros auxerrois,
valdiguié is now considered to produce low-quality wine and, except in Languedoc-Roussillon and parts of the Loire,
has almost completely been replaced by
varieties with better reputations.
In 1974, over 4,760 acres of
California vineyards were planted with a grape variously and controversially identified
as "Gamay" or "Gamay
Beaujolais"1 or "Napa Gamay" or "Monterey Gamay". Opinions differed between vineyard owners, nurserymen, and viticulturists as to the true identity of this grape cultivar; some thought it to be simply a darker-skinned, lighter-flavored clone of pinot noir, others identified it as valdiguié.
Pierre Galet, famed in France for his work in ampelography, visited the Golden State in 1980 and 1982 and proclaimed the variety to be valdiguié, which was later confirmed by DNA analysis. Whether the deciding factor was the identity crisis or the American tendency to stumble over French nomenclature of more than two syllables, by 1997, less than 1,200 vineyard acres remained planted in California.
The TTB allowed producers that have been using these other names, in some cases for decades,
to continue mis-labeling (libeling?) their wines until April, 2007.2
Using techniques and procedures intended to accentuate fruitiness, such as cold soaking, whole cluster fermentation, and carbonic maceration, some California wineries have had success making Valdiguié. These West Coast
versions tend to be charming, easy-drinking,
abundantly fruity, and low in tannin, with a soft
mouthfeel and a slightly tart finish.
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*Typical
Valdiguié Smell and/or Flavor Descriptors
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| *Typicity
depends upon individual tasting ability and experience
and is also affected by terroir and seasonal conditions,
as well as viticultural and enological techniques,
so this list is neither comprehensive nor exclusive,
merely suggestive. |
Varietal Aromas/Flavors: |
Processing Bouquets/Flavors: |
Fruit: raspberry, strawberry, cherry |
Carbonic Maceration: banana, bubblegum, cotton candy (spun sugar) |
Floral: violet, rose petal |
Oak (light): (atypical) vanilla, coconut, sweet wood |
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Oak
(heavy): (atypical) oak, smoke, toast, tar |
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Bottle
Age: (atypical) stale, pruney |
by
Jim
LaMar
NOTES
1. There is no grape variety called "Gamay
Beaujolais" or "Beaujolais". The grape variety
that is predominantly planted in the
Beaujolais appellation of France is
called Gamay Noir. RETURN
2. Wineries that have historically been labeling their wines wrong, with no intent to deceive, are often allowed by the regulating agencies to "Grandfather" around new legal provisions that prevent other brands from repeating these errors. MORE RETURN
RESOURCES
1. Jancis Robinson (ed), Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd Edition, (Oxford University Press: London) 2006
2. L. Peter Christensen, Nick K. Dokoozlian, M. Andrew Walker, James A Wolpert, et all. Wine Grape Varieties in California (University of California, Agricultural and Natural Resources Publications: Oakland) 2003
3. Charles Sullivan, A Companion to California Wine: An Encyclopedia of Wine and Winemaking from the Mission Period to the Present (University of California Press: Berkeley) 1998
4. Doris Muscatine, Maynard A. Amerine, Bob Thompson (ed), The University of California/Sotheby Book of California Wine , (University of California Press: Berkeley) 1984
5. Gerald Asher, Vineyard Tales - Reflections on Wine, (Chronicle Books: San Francisco) 1996
6. Jancis Robinson (ed), Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes , (Oxford University Press: New York) 1996
7. Steven Spurrier & Michel Dovaz, Academie du Vin, Complete Wine Course (G.P. Putnam & Sons, New York) 1983 |
