Brun Fourca is a red

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, Zante currant, currant, sultana (grape), sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimp ...

that once grew widely throughout

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

and Southwest France but is now limited to small plantings within the Palette ''

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

'' (AOC).J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 34 Oxford University Press 1996

History

The name Brun Fourca comes from the colour of the stems ''brun'' (or brown) and the characteristic "forked" (''fourche'') shape of the clusters with shoulder or "wing" branch of the cluster being of pronounced size and length in contrast to the main bunch stem. The first written mention of Brun Fourca was in a 1772 document where the name was used as a synonym for

Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

. Provençal records from 1783-1784 mention actual Brun Fourca planted in the communes of

Aubagne Aubagne (; according to the classic norm or according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2020, the commune was awarded three flowers by the ...

and

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

in the

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

department.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 139-140, Allen Lane 2012

Viticulture

Brun Fourca is a mid-ripening variety that is highly prone to

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungus, fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of Ascomycota, ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant disea ...

and botrytis rot. The vine produces small "forked" clusters of very large berries that easily fall off the

rachis In biology, a rachis (from the [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft". In zoology and microbiology In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this case the ''rachi ...

when the grapes are fully ripe.

Wine regions and AOC regulations

While the grape was historically grown throughout the Provence, South West France and

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 ( ...

regions, today it is nearly extinct with less than 2.5 acres (1 hectare) of the variety recorded in France in 2006. What is left is found almost entirely within the Palette AOC where two estates, Château Simone and Château Crémade, claim to still be using the grape in their red and

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

blends with

Cinsault Cinsaut or Cinsault ( , ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and ...

Grenache Grenache (; ) or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry condi ...

and Mourvedre. Pinot Noir

Brun Fourca grapes destined for AOC wine production must be harvested to a yield no greater than 40 hl/ha with the finished wine attaining a minimum

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

of at least 11%. In addition to Cinsault, Grenache and Mourvedre which must make up the majority of the wine, Brun Fourca can also be blended with

Carignan Carignan (; also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...

Castet Castet (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It lies on the river Gave d'Ossau, in the Ossau Valley. The Lac de Castet is an artificial lake in Castet, created by a dam in the Gave d'Ossau. See ...

, Manosquin, Muscat noir and

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 Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 91 Firefly Books 2004

Confusion with other varieties

Over the years plantings of Brun Fourca have been confused with other wine grape varieties due to either similarities in appearance of synonyms. These include the

Burgundian wine Burgundy wine ( or ') is made in the Burgundy region of eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here, and those commonly referred to as "Burgundies", are dry red wi ...

grape Pinot noir, of which Brun Fourca was an 18th-century synonym, and the ancient

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Chichaud.

Synonyms

Among the synonyms that have been used to describe Brun Fourca and its wines include Brun d´Auriol, Brun de Farnous, Brun Farnous, Brun Tourcae, Brun Tourcale, Brunfourka, Caula, Caula Noir, Caula noir de Vaucluse, Farnous (in the Var department), Floura, Flouron (in the

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

), Gros Taulier, Mançonnet (in Ardèche), Morrastel Fleuri, Morrastel Flourat, Moulan (in

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

), Moulard, Moulau, Mourastel Flourat, Moureau (in

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung G ...

(VIVC)
Brun Fourca
'' Accessed: March 24th, 2013

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties