Terret gris is a white

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 ...

planted primarily in the

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 ( ...

region. It is a

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, ...

of the ancient ''

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 ...

'' vine

Terret A terret or rein ring is a metal loop on a horse harness through which the lines (reins) pass to prevent them from tangling or getting snagged on the harness or shafts. The lines run from the hands of the driver, through the terrets, and th ...

. ''

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) regulations allow the grape to be used in white wines from the Corbières,

Coteaux 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 historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century (e ...

and

Minervois AOC Minervois () is an AOC in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region, in the departments of the Aude and of the Hérault. Historically, the region's capital has been the village of Minerve. AOC regulations require the wine to be blended (at least 2 ...

s as well as some ''

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 ...

''. The vine has a very long history in the region and is capable of producing full bodied wines with crisp

acidity 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 ...

.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 184 Oxford University Press 1996 Terret blanc is the white mutation of the grape. In official statistics, the plantings of two "light-berried" Terret grapes (as distinguished from

Terret noir Terret noir is a dark-skinned French wine grape variety grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. It is a mutation of the old ''Vitis vinifera'' vine Terret.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 184 Oxford Univer ...

, one of the permitted blending grapes for

Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape () is a French wine, an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) located around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine, Rhône wine region in southeastern France. It is one of the most renowned appellations ...

) are often counted together. The varieties reached their peak in French wine productions in the late 1980s when together the Terret varieties were the ninth most widely planted white grape variety. In the Languedoc, plantings of Terret were equal to that of

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

Wine regions

Terret gris is most widely planted in the Languedoc region. In the late 1980s, when the variety was at its peak usage, there were over 12,300 acres (5,000 hectares) planted in the region (some plantings were likely Terret blanc which is often counted together in official statistics). The grape is a permitted variety in the white AOC wines of Corbières, Coteaux du Languedoc and Minervois, though its use in the Coteaux du Languedoc was rapidly declining at the end of the 20th century. As of 2000, the ''

Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité The Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (; INAO; previously Institut National des Appellations d'Origine) is the French organization charged with regulating French agricultural products with protected designation of origin (PDOs). It ...

'' (INAO) reported that there was 3000 hectares of the light skinned Terrets, of which approximately 2,600 ha (6,400 acres) were believed to be the Terret blanc variety in particular.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 693 Oxford University Press 2006

Wine styles

Terret gris produces a full bodied wine with noticeably acidity. In favorable

vintage In winemaking, vintage is the process of picking grapes to create wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine ...

s, the aromas can have a distinctive

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

note.

Synonyms

Over the years, Terret gris and its wines have been known under various synonyms including Bourret, Tarret, Terrain, Terret bourret and Terret rose.Terret gris

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: February 8th, 2011

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties