Hebén is a very rare white

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 grown for

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 ...

and table grapes in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

History

It is an ancient variety found to have originated as a table grape in North Africa as Gibi. It is the parent variety of a large number of grapes grown in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

and the wider

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. It has paired with Alfrocheiro to produce the rare Portuguese varieties ''Trincadeira das pratas'', ''Tinta grossa'', ''Castelão branco'', and

Malvasia fina Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...

, as well as the Spanish ''Allarén''. With

Muscat of Alexandria Muscat of Alexandria is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of ''Vitis vinifera''. It is considered an "ancient vine", and wine experts believe it is one of the oldest genetically unmodified vines still in existence.J. Robi ...

it has produced ''Moscatel nunes''/''Nuno gomes'' in Portugal and ''Moscatel de Angüés'' in Spain. In Spain, it has a parent relationship with some very widely grown varieties:

Airén Airén is a variety of ''Vitis vinifera'', a white grape commonly used in winemaking. This grape is native to Spain where it represents almost a quarter of all grapes grown. As of 2017, Airén was estimated to be the world's fourth most grown wi ...

Cayetana Cayetana is a Spanish feminine given name. It may refer to: * Cayetana (band) *Cayetana blanca, Spanish grape variety People * Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo (b. 1974), Spanish journalist and politician * Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of ...

Viura Macabeo, also called Viura or Macabeu (, ), is a white variety of wine grape. It is widely grown in the Rioja region of northeastern Spain, the Cava producing areas south of Barcelona, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. Spanis ...

Xarel·lo Xarel·lo () is a white grape variety of Spanish origin specially grown in Catalonia. With Macabeo and Parellada, Xarel·lo is one of the three traditional varieties used to make the sparkling wine cava. Spanish plantations stood at in 200 ...

, and

Pedro Ximénez Pedro Ximénez (also known as PX and many other variations; Andalusian Spanish, Andalusian pronunciation ) is the name of a white Spanish wine grape variety grown in several Spanish wine regions but most notably in the (DO) of Montilla-Moriles. ...

. In total, around 60 offspring varieties have been identified. Its sparse bunches are an attribute that can be seen some in children varieties such as Pedro Ximénez and Xarello. It produces solely female flowers, unlike the majority of self-pollinating ''vinifera'' varieties grown for wine today.

References

White wine grape varieties Grape varieties of Spain {{Wine-grape-stub