Terret gris is a white French wine

French wine

French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...

 grape variety planted primarily in the Languedoc wine

Languedoc wine

Languedoc - Roussillon wine, including the vin de pays labeled Vin de Pays d'Oc, is produced in southern France. While "Languedoc" can refer to a specific historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century has primarily referred to the northern part of the...

 region. Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

(AOC) regulations allow the grape to used in white wines from the Corbières, Coteaux du Languedoc and Minervois AOCs. The vine has a very long history in the region and is capable of producing full bodied wines with crisp acidity.

Terret blanc is a white mutation

Mutation

In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...

 of the grape that is less commonly found. In official statistics, the plantings of two "light-berried" Terret grapes (as distinguished from Terret noir

Terret Noir

Terret Noir is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. It is a permitted blending grape for Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Like the related Terret Gris and Terret Blanc, the vine tends to bud late and grow vigorously. Terret Noir produces a light color wine that is...

, one of the permitted blending grapes for Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC

Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée located around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine region in southeastern France. It is the most renowned appellation of the southern part of the Rhône Valley...

) are often counted together. The varieties reached their peak in French wine productions in the late 1980s when together the Terret varieties were the ninth most widely planted white grape variety. In the Languedoc, plantings of Terret were equal to that of Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

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Wine regions

Terret gris is most widely planted in the Languedoc region. In the late 1980s, when the variety was at its peak usage, there were over 12,300 acres (5,000 hectares) planted in the region (some plantings were likely Terret blanc which is often counted together in official statistics). The grape is a permitted variety in the white AOC wines of Corbières, Coteaux du Languedoc and Minervois, though its use in the Coteaux du Languedoc was rapidly declining at the end of the 20th century.

Varietal

Varietal

"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

 Terret blancs are a specialty of the commune of Sète

Sète

Sète is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. Its inhabitants are called Sétois....

 in the Hérault

Hérault

Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

 department where it is used for the local vermouth

Vermouth

Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various dry ingredients. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced around the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Italy and France...

 and distilled for brandy

Brandy

Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...

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Wine styles

Terret gris produces a full bodied wine with noticeably acidity. In favorable vintage

Vintage

Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...

s, the aromas can have a distinctive mineral note.

Synonyms

Over the years, Terret gris and its wines have been known under various synonyms including Bourret, Tarret, Terrain, Terret bourret and Terret rose.

Known synonyms of Terret blanc include Bourret blanc, Tarret blanc and Terret monstre.