Arrufiac grapes
France is a home to a variety of wine grapes, out of these is Arrufiac wine grape which is planted in the Gascony region in South West France.
It is derived from the word ‘arrufe’ meaning proud or rough, but also wrinkled or gathered and rufe meaning Gascon. It is a white wine grape variety.
Until date, Gascony is the only region which grows this variety of wine. This grape is mostly used for blending in a number of wines and there too it is rarely considered to be the dominant variety.
Wines made from this variety have a low alcohol content. In some regions it is known as, Femelle, Refiat, Rufiat or Ambre. Arrufiac grape is mainly known to be blended with Petit Courbu or with Courbu blanc.
This grape is blended, mainly due to its aroma. It is among those grapes which are not popular at all except for the region in which they are cultivated.
Producteurs Plaimont is the only winemaker company which uses this grape for blending in their wines.
Plaimount wines are famous internationally, but due to some hidden reason their wine is not able to set its market in the US.
To save this variety, two conservatories were also made. Arrufiac has a long way in being named with the famous grape varieties!
Origin of Arrufiac
Like most of the wines, the exact origin of Arrufiac grape is known. Arrufiac grape was declined in the 1980’s, but somehow it managed to keep its existence and as a result it is now grown in Gascony.
It could not make its place in any other location since then, but was not eradicated from this region too. There is no evidence about who was the first one to discover the taste of this grape.
Features
Arrufiac grape has thick skin and is light in colour. It grows in large bunches of oval berries. These bunches are conical shaped.
It is used in the making of sweet and dry wines. When the leaves of this grape are young, they are green in colour and have slight bronze patches on them.
Bud burst begins right after 5 days of Chasselas. After plucking, they are left for black rotting and later ripening.
This grape is well known for the aroma it adds to the wines. It is because of its aroma that winemakers blend this grape variety in their wines.
It has a number of clones being made which are 922, 921, 653, 652 and 405. These grapes are sensitive to grey rot and have a very fragile skin.
Due to the fact that they are easily attacked by insects which may lead to crop failure, the cultivators avoid the plantation of this variety of grape.
But there have been noticed a very little rise in the usage of this grape from the time it was first used and today.
It suits the best with lime pie. Though not famous, this grape has been in the history of French wines since a very long time and hence needs to be saved for coming up generations.
If you visit the Gascony area of France you must try wines made from this variety of grapes. There had been a gradual increase in the use and there needs to more!
Michael Bredahl
Wine Writer
Michael is an online enthusiast, with a lot of knowledge about online marketing. Traveling around the world to hunt for the perfect wine. Latest on Sicily, where Etna has a huge impact on the taste, which is strong with a bitter aftertaste for the youngest wines, but older wines are fantastic. Drinking wine, and writing about them, are one the passions. Remember to drink responsibly 🙂
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