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Thursday, March 30, 2017

An Ode to Chenin Blanc

We are back in our vineyard, our winter hibernation coming to an end, we're coming out of dormancy, reawakening muscles that have been on a long hiatus. Ouch!
I was looking for a reference paper for another blog that I am in the middle of writing and found something written by L. Peter Christensen titled Chenin Blanc, which is part of a book called Wine Grape Varieties in California written by Larry Bettiga.
Just looking at this photo of Chenin Blanc grapes got me inspired for the work ahead in the vineyard this year.
While I knew that Chenin Blanc is the white grape found in the Loire region of France, I did not know that this variety has been growing in Anjou since 845 A.D.
Here is the description of Chenin Blanc from Christensen's paper:
  • Clusters: medium to large; long conical, compact, often winged; short to medium peduncles.
  • Berries: medium; oval, yellow-green.
  • Leaves: medium; 3- to 5-lobed with U-shaped petiolar sinus; inferior lateral sinuses often shallow; short teeth; moderately dense hair on lower leaf surface; leaf veins near the petiolar junction pink-red and noticeable on upper surface.
  • Shoot tips: felty white; dense hair on young leaves makes them appear cream-white.
  • Clones: FPS 02, 03, and 04 were derived from FPS 01 using heat therapy.
             →FPS 05 was established from a different California vineyard.
             →A comparative trial demonstrated that Chenin blanc FPS 04            was the most productive, followed closely by selection 01.
             →Selection 05 should not be planted because of its higher            bunch rot potential (75 percent increase over FPS Chenin            blanc 01 and 04), which is due to small, very compact            clusters in spite of its smaller berries.
  • Harvest: Mid-season variety. In our area, we have been harvesting our Chenin Blanc during the third week in September.
  • Grape attributes: Chenin blanc has moderately good acid level, attaining its best balance of sugar and acid in the cool to moderately warm growing regions.

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