What is Valdiguié?

Earlier this month, I wrote about Red Grapes of California and in that blog was a grape called Valdiguié which was mistakenly called Gamay in California. I wanted to know more about the Valdiguié grape and found a very good article from U.C. Davis.¹
Valdiguié is a grape grown in France where it is also known as Valdiguer, Cahors, Gros Auxerrois, Jean-Pierrou at Sauzet, Quercy, and Noir de Chartres. According Robinson, et. al² the Valdiguié is a fairly recent variety, the origins of which are hypothesized to be in Puylaroque in southern France.
The California Gamay was correctly identified as Valdiguié by Pierre Galet in 1980 and verified by DNA fingerprinting. It belongs to the Cot (Malbec) ampelographic group. The grape gained popularity during Prohibition due to it's high yield and tolerance to powdery mildew. Currently in California, there are approximately 1,000 acres planted in Valdiguié.

The variety is vigorous and late blooming allowing it to escape early spring frosts. It is high yielding producing between 5 to 8 tons an acre. Valdiguié is used for the production of fruity red or rosé table wines.
References:
1. Valdiguié.
2. J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz, Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours, pg 1109-1110, Allen Lane 2012 ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2.