Villard Noir
Encyclopedia
Villard grapes are French wine
hybrid grape created by French horticulturalist Bertille Seyve and his father-in-law Victor Villard (father and grandfather of grape breeder Joannes Seyve). They include the dark skin Villard noir and the white-wine variety Villard blanc with both being members of the Seyve-Villard grape family. Villard noir is a cross of two other French hybrids, Siebel 6905 (also known as Le Subereux) and Seibel 7053 (also known as Chancellor
) created by physician and plant breeder Albert Seibel
. Like Villard noir, Villard blanc was produced as a crossing of two Seibel grapes, in this case, Le Subereux and Seibel 6468.
Villard noir was once widely grown in the South West France wine region with some plantings also found in Bordeaux. The variety reaches its peaked in the late 1960s when there was more than 74,000 acres (30,000 hectares) of Villard noir planted throughout France. (And an additional 21,000 hectares of its white skin sibling, Villard blanc). By 1968, Villard noir was the fifth most widely planted black-skin grape in France and Villard blanc the third most widely planted white-skin variety. However, from that peak its numbers soon declined as French authorities attributed the proliferation of hybrid varieties as a cause of the growing wine lake
problem in France and ordered the uprooting of many varieties. Since 1977 Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
(AOC) laws have forbidden the planting of the Villard grapes in France.
Despite being a hybrid grape variety, plantings of Villard noir are normally grafted onto Vitis berlandieri
rootstock. Although susceptible to botrytis
and powdery mildew
, the vine is virtually immune to downy mildew
and can be found in American wine
regions on the east coast where mildew is often a problem. Today, is commonly used as a blending grape for table wine
or in the production of distilled beverage
s.
variety, which became an important grape in the wine industry of the United Kingdom, and the two Villard varieties, which became popular in France. A few reasons for the Villards’ popularity were the varieties’ relative ease of cultivation, their resistance to downy mildew, and prolific yields.
Plantings of the varieties increased for the devastation of the war years following World War I
and World War II
with the Villards hitting their peak in the French wine industry during the 1960s. By 1968, Villard noir was the fifth most widely black skin grape variety (behind such notable Vitis vinifera
varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon
and Merlot
) while Villard blanc was the third most planted white grape variety (behind Ugni blanc and Chardonnay
). During these peak years there were more than 30,000 and 21,000 hectares of Villard noir and blanc, respectively, planted over a swatch of southern France that stretched from Bordeaux all the way to the northern Rhone.
But this peak period was short lived as hybrid grape varieties became a source for scorn and blame from French authorities and growers of exclusively vinifera fruit for the wine lake phenomenon that troubled the European wine industry for much of the 20th century. For the rest of the century, both Villard varieties as well as several other hybrid grapes (like Baco noir
, Chambourcin
, Couderc and Plantet
) were targeted by aggressive vine-pull schemes were growers were paid substantial amounts to uproot their vineyards and either replant with more "noble grapes" or different agriculture
crops. These efforts were highly successful and by the end of the 1980s, the numbers for Villard noir had dropped to 2,500 hectares and for Villard blanc to 4,600 hectares. Further fulled by changed to French wine laws in the 1970s that prohibited the use of hybrid grapes in AOC wines and banned future plantings, both grapes were virtually eradicated from French vineyards by the turn of the 21st century.
as well the vineyards of the northern Rhône Valley, today it is virtually eradicated from France. The few exceptions are isolated old vine
plantings in the departments of Ardèche
and Tarn which survived the vine-pulling period of the late 20th century.
Today, both Villard grapes can be found in limited plantings in various American wines regions including Missouri, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. In New York State, Villard noir has a long history in the Finger Lakes AVA
.
perspective, Villard blanc has the potential to make the better wine but its must
can be difficult to work with and can be prone to various wine faults.
Villard blanc has been known under the synonyms Seyve-Villard 12-375 and SV 12-375.
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...
hybrid grape created by French horticulturalist Bertille Seyve and his father-in-law Victor Villard (father and grandfather of grape breeder Joannes Seyve). They include the dark skin Villard noir and the white-wine variety Villard blanc with both being members of the Seyve-Villard grape family. Villard noir is a cross of two other French hybrids, Siebel 6905 (also known as Le Subereux) and Seibel 7053 (also known as Chancellor
Chancellor (grape)
Chancellor is a hybrid wine grape variety produced by Albert Seibel circa 1860. It is also known as Seibel 7053 and is a cross of Seibel 5163 and Seibel 880.The grape produces a fruity red wine. It is susceptible to both downy and powdery mildew.-Synonyms:...
) created by physician and plant breeder Albert Seibel
Albert Seibel
Albert Seibel was a French physician and viticulturist who made hybrid crosses of European wine grapes with native North American grapes...
. Like Villard noir, Villard blanc was produced as a crossing of two Seibel grapes, in this case, Le Subereux and Seibel 6468.
Villard noir was once widely grown in the South West France wine region with some plantings also found in Bordeaux. The variety reaches its peaked in the late 1960s when there was more than 74,000 acres (30,000 hectares) of Villard noir planted throughout France. (And an additional 21,000 hectares of its white skin sibling, Villard blanc). By 1968, Villard noir was the fifth most widely planted black-skin grape in France and Villard blanc the third most widely planted white-skin variety. However, from that peak its numbers soon declined as French authorities attributed the proliferation of hybrid varieties as a cause of the growing wine lake
Wine lake
The wine lake refers to the continuing supply surplus of wine produced in the European Union. A major contributor to that glut is the Languedoc-Roussillon, which produces over one-third of the grapes grown in France. In 2007 it was reported that for the previous several vintages, European...
problem in France and ordered the uprooting of many varieties. Since 1977 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) laws have forbidden the planting of the Villard grapes in France.
Despite being a hybrid grape variety, plantings of Villard noir are normally grafted onto Vitis berlandieri
Vitis berlandieri
Vitis berlandieri is a species of grape native to the southern North America, primarily Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas.It is primarily known for good tolerance against soils with a high content of lime, which can cause chlorosis in many vines of American origin...
rootstock. Although susceptible to botrytis
Botrytis
Botrytis may refer to:*Botrytis, the anamorphs of fungi of the genus Botryotinia**Botrytis cinerea, a mold important in wine making*Botrytis, the cauliflower cultivar group of Brassica oleracea...
and powdery mildew
Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of fungi in the order Erysiphales. It is one of the easier diseases to spot, as its symptoms are quite distinctive. Infected plants display white powdery spots on the...
, the vine is virtually immune to downy mildew
Downy mildew
Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to Peronosporaceae. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of crucifers, grapes and vegetables that grow on vines...
and can be found in American wine
American wine
American wine has been produced for over 300 years. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 89 percent of all US wine...
regions on the east coast where mildew is often a problem. Today, is commonly used as a blending grape for table wine
Table wine
Table wine is a wine term with two different meanings: a wine style; and a quality level within wine classification.In the United States, table wine primarily designates a wine style - ordinary wine which is neither fortified nor sparkling....
or in the production of distilled beverage
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
s.
History
In the early 20th century, Bertille Seyve and his father-in-law Victor Villard picked up on the work of French physician and viticulturalist Albert Seibel and began experimenting with Seibel grape in the creation of new varieties. Working with these grapes, Seyve and Villard created the popular Seyval blancSeyval Blanc
Seyval Blanc is a hybrid wine grape variety used to make white wines. Its vines ripen early, are productive and are suited to fairly cool climates.Seyval Blanc is grown mainly in England, and the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, as well as to a lesser extent in Canada...
variety, which became an important grape in the wine industry of the United Kingdom, and the two Villard varieties, which became popular in France. A few reasons for the Villards’ popularity were the varieties’ relative ease of cultivation, their resistance to downy mildew, and prolific yields.
Plantings of the varieties increased for the devastation of the war years following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
with the Villards hitting their peak in the French wine industry during the 1960s. By 1968, Villard noir was the fifth most widely black skin grape variety (behind such notable Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
and Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
) while Villard blanc was the third most planted white grape variety (behind Ugni blanc and 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...
). During these peak years there were more than 30,000 and 21,000 hectares of Villard noir and blanc, respectively, planted over a swatch of southern France that stretched from Bordeaux all the way to the northern Rhone.
But this peak period was short lived as hybrid grape varieties became a source for scorn and blame from French authorities and growers of exclusively vinifera fruit for the wine lake phenomenon that troubled the European wine industry for much of the 20th century. For the rest of the century, both Villard varieties as well as several other hybrid grapes (like 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...
, Chambourcin
Chambourcin
Chambourcin is a French-American interspecific hybrid grape variety used for making wine. Its parentage is uncertain. The hybrid was produced by Joannes Seyve who often used Seibel hybrids produced in the 1860s. The grape has only been available since 1963. Chambourcin has a good resistance to...
, Couderc and Plantet
Plantet
Plantet is a red wine grape variety that was one of the hybrid grape created by French physician and grape breeder Albert Seibel. While the exact parentage of the grape is unknown, the most popular theories has it as a cross of two Seibel grapes, Seibel 867 x Seibel 2524 with another theory...
) were targeted by aggressive vine-pull schemes were growers were paid substantial amounts to uproot their vineyards and either replant with more "noble grapes" or different agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
crops. These efforts were highly successful and by the end of the 1980s, the numbers for Villard noir had dropped to 2,500 hectares and for Villard blanc to 4,600 hectares. Further fulled by changed to French wine laws in the 1970s that prohibited the use of hybrid grapes in AOC wines and banned future plantings, both grapes were virtually eradicated from French vineyards by the turn of the 21st century.
Wine regions
While the Villard grapes were once widely planted throughout southern France, particularly in the wine regions of the southwest, and could be found in BordeauxBordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
as well the vineyards of the northern Rhône Valley, today it is virtually eradicated from France. The few exceptions are isolated old vine
Old vine
Old vine is a term commonly used on wine labels to indicate that a wine is the product of grape vines that are notably old. The practice of displaying it stems from the general belief that older vines, when properly handled, will give a better wine...
plantings in the departments of Ardèche
Ardèche
Ardèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The plateau of the Ardeche River has extensive standing stones ,...
and Tarn which survived the vine-pulling period of the late 20th century.
Today, both Villard grapes can be found in limited plantings in various American wines regions including Missouri, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. In New York State, Villard noir has a long history in the Finger Lakes AVA
Finger Lakes AVA
The Finger Lakes AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Upstate New York, south of Lake Ontario. The Finger Lakes encompass eleven glacial lakes, but the area around Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes contain the vast majority of vineyard plantings in the AVA...
.
Viticulture and winemaking
The Villard grapes are known for their prolific yields, relative ease of cultivation and resistance to downy mildew. From a winemakingWinemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
perspective, Villard blanc has the potential to make the better wine but its must
Must
Must is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...
can be difficult to work with and can be prone to various wine faults.
Synonyms
Over the years, Villard noir and its wines have been known under a variety of synonyms, including Seyve-Villard 18-315, Seyve-Villard 18315, SV 18-315 and Willard Noir.Villard blanc has been known under the synonyms Seyve-Villard 12-375 and SV 12-375.