Folle Blanche was the traditional grape

Grape

A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

 variety of the Cognac

Cognac

Cognac is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Cognac is situated on the river Charente between the towns of Angoulême and Saintes. The majority of the town has been built on the river's left bank, with the smaller right...

 and Armagnac

Armagnac (region)

The hilly countship of Armagnac , in the foothills of the Pyrenées between the Adour and Garonne rivers, is a historic countship of the Duchy of Gascony, established in 601 in Aquitaine...

 regions of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It is also known as Picpoule (with various variations of spelling (Piquepoul, Picpoul), although it is in fact unrelated to the Picpoul of the Languedoc

Languedoc

Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...

) as well as Gros Plant and Enrageat Blanc. Folle Blanche is an offspring of Gouais Blanc

Gouais Blanc

Gouais Blanc or Weißer Heunisch is a white grape variety that is seldom grown today but is important as the ancestor of many traditional French and German grape varieties. The name Gouais derives from the old French adjective ‘gou’, a term of derision befitting its traditional status as the grape...

, with the other parent so far unidentified.

It has been mostly replaced by its hybrid offspring Baco Blanc due to phylloxera

Phylloxera

Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...

 damage. Baco Blanc (also known as Baco 22 A) is a cross of Folle Blanche and the Vitis riparia

Vitis riparia

Vitis riparia Michx, also commonly known as River Bank Grape or Frost Grape, is a native American climbing or trailing vine, widely distributed from Quebec to Texas, and Montana to New England. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper canopy of the tallest trees...

 × Vitis labrusca

Vitis labrusca

Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...

hybrid Noah. Folle Blanche is also the parent of the very hardy and disease-resistant Baco 1 (or Baco noir

Baco noir

Baco noir is a hybrid red wine grape variety produced from a cross of Vitis vinifera var. Folle Blanche, a French wine grape, and an unknown variety of Vitis riparia indigenous to North America. Baco noir produces a medium body, deeply tinted, acidic red wine which is fruit forward and often...

), a cross of Folle Blanche and a Vitis riparia variety. Baco noir and Baco 22 A, like Folle Blanche and their other parents, produce a very acid wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

. This makes them more suited to distillation

Distillation

Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....

 than less acidic grapes.

Folle Blanche is used in the Loire Valley area around Nantes

Nantes

Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

 to produce Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, a very dry and often tartly acidic VDQS

VDQS

Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure , usually abbreviated as VDQS, is the second highest category of French wine, below Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée in rank, but above Vin de pays . VDQS is sometimes written as AOVDQS, with AO standing for Appellation d'Origine...

 wine that pairs well with shellfish. Approximately 3000 hectares (7,413.2 acre) are planted with the variety in the Loire Valley. There it is used both in the production of table wine as well as eau de vie

Eau de vie

An eau de vie is a clear, colorless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation...

.

Synonyms

Folle Blanche is also known under the synonyms Amounedat, Bordelais, Bouillon, Burageat, Came Braque, Camobraque, Canut, Canut du Lot et Garonne, Chalosse Blanche, Chalot, Dame Blanc, Dame Blanche, Damery, Engreat Blanc, Enrachat, Enrage, Enrageade, Enrageat, Enrageat Blanc, Feher Folle, Fol, Fol Belyi, Folle De Bordeaux, Fou, Fütterer, Grais, Grais Bouillon, Gros Meslier, Gros Plant, Grosse Blanquette, Grosse Chalosse, Matza Zuri, Mendic, Mendik, Mondic, Petit Verjus, Pic Pouille Blanc, Picpouille, Picpoul, Picpoule, Picpoult d’Armagnac, Picpout, Picquepouille, Piquepoul, Piquepoul du Gers, Piquepoult, Piquepout, Plant de Dame, Plant de Madame, Plant de Madone, Pochelle Blanche, Rebauche, Rochelle Blanc, Rochelle Blanche, Rochelle Verte, Roumain, Taloche du Lot, Talosse, and Ugne Blanche.