Clairette blanche () is a white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

variety most widely grown in the wine regions of

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 ...

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

and

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. At the end of the 1990s, there were of Clairette blanche grown in France, although volumes are decreasing. Clairette blanche was often used to make

vermouth Vermouth (, ) is an Italian aromatized wine, aromatized, fortified wine, flavored with various Botany, botanicals (roots, Bark (botany), barks, flowers, seeds, Herb, herbs, and Spice, spices) and sometimes Food coloring, colored. The modern ve ...

, to which it is suited as it produces wine high in alcohol and low in acidity, and therefore yields wines that are sometimes described as "flabby" and which tend to oxidize easily. These problems have sometimes been partially overcome by blending it with high-acid varieties such as

Piquepoul blanc Piquepoul (), Picpoul, or Picapoll is a variety of wine grape grown primarily in the Rhone Valley and Languedoc regions of France as well as Catalonia, Spain. It exists both in dark-skinned (Piquepoul noir) and light-skinned (Piquepoul blanc ...

. It is allowed into many

appellations An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, ...

of Southern Rhône, Provence and Languedoc. The white wines Clairette de Bellegarde and

Clairette du Languedoc 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 Languedoc, historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th ...

are made entirely from Clairette blanche, while the sparkling wine Clairette de Die can also contain

Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains () is a white wine grape of Greek origin that is a member of the Muscat family of ''Vitis vinifera''. Its name comes from its characteristic small berry size and tight clusters. It is known under a variety of loca ...

. Clairette blanche is frequently used in the blended white

Vin de pays ''Vin de pays'' (; 'country wine') was a French wine classification that was above the '' vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former '' vin délimité de qualité ...

from Languedoc. It is also one of the thirteen grape varieties permitted in the

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avignon. A ruined medieval castle s ...

appellation. With 2.5% of the appellation's vineyards planted in Clairette blanche in 2004 it is the most common white variety in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, slightly ahead of

Grenache blanc Grenache blanc (; also known as garnatxa blanca in Catalonia) is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol ...

. Outside France it is also grown in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

for

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne ( ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Synonyms

Clairette blanche is also known under the synonyms AG Cleret, AG Kleret, Blanc Laffite, Blanket, Blanquette, Blanquette De Limoux, Blanquette du Midi, Blanquette Velue, Bon Afrara, Bou Afrara, Branquete, Cibade, Clairette, Clairette d'Aspiran, Clairette De Limoux, Clairette De Trans, Clairette Pointue, Clairette Pounchoudo, Clairette verte, Clarette, Clerette, Colle Musquette, Cotticour, Feher Clairette, Feher Kleret, Gaillard blanc, Granolata, Klaretto bianko, Kleret, Kleret Belyi, Kleret de Limu, Muscade, Osianka, Ousianka, Ovsyaika, Ovsyanka, Petit blanc, Petit Kleret, Petite Clairette, Poupe De Gate, Pti Blan d'Obena, Seidentraube, Shalos Zolotistyi, Uva Gijona, Vivsianka, Vivsyanca and Vivsyanka.Clarette blanche
,

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 ...

, accessed on June 20, 2008 Clairette also appears in the name and synonyms of other grape varieties, including

Bourboulenc Bourboulenc is a white wine grape variety primarily grown in southern France. The variety is found in the regions Southern Rhône, Provence and Languedoc. Bourboulenc is a late-ripening grape variety with tight bunches of large grapes, that can ...

and

Ugni blanc Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

References

{{wines White wine grape varieties