Gros Verdot 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 was a historically important grape in the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

wine region of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

but plantings of the variety have been banned in the region since 1946J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 447, Allen Lane 2012 with the grape no longer being a permitted variety in any AOC

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

s. Today the grape is not widely cultivated with limited plantings in France,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where it is an acceptable component in Bordeaux-style Meritage blends.Meritage Allianc
Meritage Fact Sheet
Accessed: March 23rd, 2013 Despite the similar name,

ampelographer Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of th ...

s believe there is no direct genetic relation between Gros Verdot and

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

.J. Robinson ''Vines Grapes & Wines'' pgs 159, 199 & 790 Mitchell Beazley 1986

History

While ampelographers once believed that Gros Verdot originated with Petit Verdot in the Gironde region,

DNA testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

in 2007 showed that the grape likely originated as a wild

grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...

domesticated in the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

region. The name ''Verdot'' stems from the French word ''vert'' meaning "green" and is thought to reference the

acidic An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...

, unripe flavors that the grape can have if not given a long

growing season A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of daylight. The growing season is that portion of the year in which local conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature, daylight) permit normal plant growth. Whi ...

to full ripen before

harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

. The term ''Gros'' means "grand" or "large", however Gros Verdot actually has smaller berries than Petit Verdot. The earliest mention of Gros Verdot comes from a 1736 document detailing it as one of the grapes, along with Petit Verdot, that was growing in the

Bordeaux wine region The wine regions of Bordeaux in France are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of Bordeaux and covering the whole ...

. In the 19th century, Gros Verdot was a prominent grape in the Queyries vineyard planted outside the city of

on land that is now part of the

Jardin botanique de la Bastide The Jardin botanique de la Bastide (4 hectares) is the new municipal botanical garden located on the right bank of the Garonne, along the Allée Jean Giono in Bordeaux, Gironde, Aquitaine, France. It is open daily without charge. This garden is ...

. New plantings of Gros Verdot were officially banned from the Gironde in 1946 and today it is not listed in the French government's official register of permitted grape varieties.

Viticulture

Gros Verdot is a productive and high yield grape variety that, similar to Petit Verdot, requires a long ripening period. Despite the name ''Gros'' Verdot, the vine actually produces clusters of smaller berries than Petit Verdot. Like many ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern ...

'' varieties, Gros Verdot is highly prone to

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

with the

phylloxera epidemic The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an insect that originated in North America and was carried across the At ...

of the late 19th century being partially responsible for the grape's near extinction in France. This is because Gros Verdot does not take well to the

grafting Grafting or graftage is a horticulture, horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the roots ...

process that binds the vine to American

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to ...

that is more tolerant to phylloxera. While

viticultural Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

advances have improved Gros Verdot's grafting tolerance it still only takes well to certain types of ''

Vitis rupestris ''Vitis rupestris'' is a species of grape native to the United States that is known by many common names including July, Coon, sand, sugar, beach, bush, currant, ingar, rock, and mountain grape. It is used for breeding several French-American hy ...

'' stocks.Lanigan & Edwards '
KENNETH VOLK WINES
"'' Accessed: March 23, 2013

Wine regions

Though there are some plantings of Gros Verdot in France, since its 1946 banning its numbers have dwindled to the point where the variety is nearly extinct in its homeland. Outside France there are limited plantings in California where it is often confused with Cabernet Pfeffer (actually Mourtaou, according to the University of California at Davis Foundation Plant Services). In 2007, a vineyard first planted in 1895 and now growing grapes for Kenneth Volk Vineyards in the Lime Kiln Valley sub region of the San Benito AVA was discovered to be planted with Gros Verdot instead of Cabernet Pfeffer as originally thought. Similar DNA testing revealed other California plantings of vines labelled as Trousseau/Bastardo to also be Gros Verdot. In 2012, Chile reported having of "Verdot" plantings which were distinct from the of Petit Verdot.

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

has documented of just "Verdot" but Master of Wine

Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...

notes that these are likely all plantings of Petit Verdot.

Meritage

Gros Verdot is a permitted variety in the red Meritage "Bordeaux style" wine produced in California,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and other wine regions with wineries that are members of the Meritage Alliance. In these wines, the grape is usually blended with Cabernet Sauvignon,

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

, Carmenère,

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are ...

, St-Macaire and Petit Verdot.Gail Appleson '
Meritage wines are all-American
'' St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 9th, 2011

Styles

According to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson Gros Verdot tends to produce a less concentrated wine than Petit Verdot but one with cherry and pepper notes.

Synonyms

Over the years Gros Verdot has been known under a variety synonyms including: Colon, Fer, Fer Servadon, Fer Servadou, Gros Verdot Colon, Gros Verdot Crni, Gros Verdot noir, Here, Hère (in the Dordogne), Herranet, Herre, Hert, Mancin Colon, Plant de Palus (in the Gironde), Pruera, Verdau Colon, Verdot Colon (in the Gironde) and Verdot Gros.

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)
Gros Verdot
'' Accessed: March 23rd, 2013

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties