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Monday, May 14, 2007

Wine 101 - Blanc Du Bois

Traditionally, grapes are cultivated in each region based on geographic conditions, and not necessarily on which wine is is most popular in the market. In this regard, American winemakers in the southeast and Gulf states have been limited in the grapes that they can cultivate because the humid conditions of their terrior promote the development of Pierce's disease. Vitis Viniferia grapes are particularly susceptible to this disease, in which bacteria attacks the "water conducting" elements of the vines (xylem). Thus wine growers in this region were primarily dependent on growing native Muscadine grapes, which were mostly resistant to the disease. Researchers at the University of Florida’s Leesburg Research Station, began a program to create a new grape that was fully resistant to Pierce's disease. Led by Dr. John Mortenson, in 1968, the team was able to develop a complex hybrid grape from crossing a Florida-developed muscadine hybrid with the Cardinal (a Vinifera hybrid) table grape. They called this new white grape Blanc Du Bois, and claimed that is was completely resistant to the destructive disease. For the past two decades, southern winemakers have validated this claim by producing dry, fruity Blanc Du Bois wines, many which have won medals in international competitions. Although Florida was it's original birthplace, this grape has flourished in other humid regions in the United States, particularly in Texas.

One Texas winery, Haak Vineyards & Winery, was one of the first wineries in the country to cultivate Blanc du Bois. In the early 1970’s Raymand Haak contacted the University in Florida after reading about their efforts to create a grape resistant to Pierce's Disease. He ordered a few Blanc du Bois vines and began experimenting with the grapes he grew. He believed that it had great potential to produce premium wines and encouraged other local vineyards to plant the variety. His foresight has proven correct since his winery has produced numerous medal winning dry and off-dry Blanc du Bois wines. The winery’s best wine comes from the two acres of 24 year old vines growing in his vineyard. In addition, the winery is able to purchase tons of quality Blanc du Bois grapes from commercial growers in his region. From these grapes, Haak Winery produces two distinct styles of wine. The first style is finished off-dry with 3% residual sugar. If exhibits a flavor profile similar to a nice clean crisp Riesling with flavors of peach, pear, pineapple and other tropical fruit. The second style is finished dry. It exhibits citrus flavors with grapefruit being predominant and finishing with slight hints of lemon, banana, and honey – similar to a clean crisp New Zealand style Sauvignon Blanc. However, Mr. Haak explains, “make no mistake about it, Blanc du Bois is its own grape variety and is winning loyal consumers every day”. These “loyal consumers” purchase the entire stock of each year’s vintage and even includes wine judges, who have awarded Haak Winery medals for its Blanc du Bois, since the first vintage. Among the many medals awarded in 2005, were Silver at the Indiana International Wine Competition, Bronze at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, and Silver and Bronze at the Texas Best Wine Competition. In addition, the dry Blanc du Bois was awarded Best of Show at the Texas Best Wine Competition. The primary hindrance that Mr. Haak experiences is the lack of name recognition that encumbers several of the varieties reported in this Vitis Labrusca section. Blanc du Bois is sold primarily through the tasting room, where the general public overwhelmingly enjoys the unique characteristics of this grape. However, he does not expect the wine buyer to purchase this wine at a retail outlet, when they probably have never heard of the fruit. He has even had name recognition problems with wine judges, where one was reported to ask “What grape is this wine made from?”

Two other Texas wineries, Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards and Tehuacana Creek Vineyards and Winery, started cultivating Blanc Du Bois after looking for a vine that is resistant to Pierce disease and as a bonus, found that this grape makes world class wine. Los Pinos Ranch is a small family-owned winery located in east Texas almost half way between Dallas and Shreveport. The winery’s philosophy is to encourage people to be adventurous in your wine tasting, and to meet this goal, they are producing three versions of Blanc Du Bois. The first is a dry white wine - similar to Viognier; the second is a semi-sweet wine in a Riesling style; and the third will be a malolactic barrel fermented dry wine that will taste like peaches. As with many non-vinifera grapes, many “wine critics/experts” have preconceived notions about what grapes and regions will produce good wine and thus give Blanc Du Bois scant notice. Jeff Sneed, the winery’s winemaker, is firmly convinced that given a blind taste test, Blanc Du Bois can compete with any “French” grape. We completely agree with Mr. Sneed when he advises, “Don’t listen to wine ‘experts’. Most people know what tastes good when they put it in their mouth.”

Tehuacana Creek Vineyards and Winery is a family owned and operated vineyard located in Waco, Texas. They are pleased to be able to produce a unique and premium white wine such as Blanc du Bois without having to produce “yet another Chardonnay”. Their Blanc du Bois is aged in stainless steel which gives the wine a crisper and livelier fruit taste which further distinguishes it from classic American whites. According to the winery, their Blanc du Bois combines the crisp fruit of a Riesling with the aromatic flavors of a Muscato and a touch of spiciness reminiscent of a Gewürtztraminer. It has also received a welcome reception from the Texan wine public by earning accolades at this year's Annual Heart of Texas Wine and Food Festival. Ulf Westblom, the winery’s Winemaker, also recommends aging the wine for several years – unlike other white wines, Blanc du Bois will further develop in the bottle.

Traveling east into Louisiana, Landry Vineyards has been cultivating Blanc Du Bois since the vineyards were first planted in 1999. Located in the town of Folsom, in St. Tammany Parish, the winery seeks to produce quality Louisiana wines that are distinctive to the region and Blanc Du Bois meets this criteria based on its resistance to Pierce disease, its tolerance to heat and its ability to produce quality wine. Landry Vineyards produces three versions of the wine: Blanc Du Bois Dry, Blanc Du Bois Oak Aged, and Blanc Du Bois Semi-Sweet. According to the winery’s tasting notes, “each version possesses clean crisp flavors of fruit including peach, pear, tropical fruit with hints of wood character and honey-suckle aromas”. Jeff Landry, the owner/winemaker, believes this grape produces a nice wine and is excited about their current success producing Blanc Du Bois.

Blanc du Bois will never receive the public exposure as Chardonnay or Riesling. But its worth a try.

13 comments:

  1. You failed to mention Tara vinyard and winery in Athens, Tx. where Patrick Pierce produces an extremly well made German style blanc du bois that has better clarity than all the blanc du bois I have tried.
    From what I hear from many winemakers blanc du bois is extremly difficult to clarify to a commercial style clarity.

    Patrick produces a Blanc du Bois semi-sweet and a Blanc du Bois Dry.
    not to mention a 100% Cynthiana. The only 100% cynthiana I have found localy grown.

    Blanc du Bois in my opinion is the "Taste of Texas" and if many other Texas Winemakers began producing good quality Blanc we could see commercial outlets open. Even more so overseas. The problem is here in texas many winemakers do not know how to make it properly and do not use the cool fermentaion processes which adds allot to the quality of the wine.

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  2. Thanks for the information. We will include Tara in our list of wineries that produce Blanc du Bois and Norton\Cynthinia in our wine-compass.com Wine 101 section.

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  3. Lone Oak Winery, in Texas, produces an excellent Blanc Du Bois!

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  4. I visited Lone Oak Winery while on vacation in October and fell in love with the Blanc du Bois served in the tasting room. However, I don't think Lone Oak produces a Blanc Du Bois though they may use that grape in one of their blends.

    The bottles of Blanc du Bois which we brought home from Lone Oak came from Haak Vineyards. Absolutely delightful. I served it for our Thanksgiving dinner and received rave reviews.

    Stunning wine.

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  5. Woodrose Winery produces wonderful Blanc du Bois. It is 1/3 barrel fermented. The winemaker said that he has never had an issue with clarifying it. I think they have some of the best in Texas.

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  6. Blanc du Bois has no muscadine in its lineage. It is a hybrid of a wild bunch grape (V. aestivalis) and several V. vinefera cultivars.

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  7. Lone Oak Winery in Burleson, TX produces their own Blanc du Bois wine and it is truly an exceptional quality. It is truly the "Taste if Texas" and can be crafted in a number of styles each with their own character. My favorite is the Blanc du Bois Dry that Gene Estes, Owner & Winemaker of Lone Oak, has so skillfully created. This hybrid grape has a huge future in Texas abeit name recognition may be a little slow in coming. Drink it, enjoy it and that day will certainly come!

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  8. I will need to update this post in the future. Apparently there are several excellent Blanc de Bois in Texas and the southeast.

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  9. After spending 5 hours helping harvest blanc du bois in 107 degree heat yesterday I feel I must add the Vineyard at Florence (Texas, not Italy) to your list of wineries making high quality lesser known wines. The grapes were allowed to hang until completely ripe and golden. This drought we are in posed no threat of rain during harvest allowing for the extra hang time. The Vineyard produces 2 100% blanc du bois wines, one being a reserve wine that is not made every year.

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  10. Crump Valley Vineyards, as well, has Blanc Du Bois.

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  11. Fairhaven Vineyard near Hawkins, Texas, produces a very fine Blanc du Bois. Served well chilled, it is a very refreshing light, dry, citrusy wine that it at the top of my wife's list. Fairhaven also produces a port wine from Blanc du Bois grapes.

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  12. You should check our the Jaber Estate Winery in Mission Texas in the Rio Grande Vally. They make only two varieties of wine - a white Blanc de Bois and a Red - Black Spanish. All grapes are grown locally on the farm. The owner and winemaker is Jorge Jaber.
    Bothvarities are very good

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  13. Thanks for the recommendations of the other wineries that offer blanc du bois. Hubby and I have become so interested in wine that we're getting ready to start a small boutique vineyard on our country property. I've written about a small Texas winery in one of my novels, and I'm really excited about starting one albeit just as a hobby. We'll be planting blanc du bois for sure and maybe a cab, merlot, san giovase, and norton. We'll be experimenting first to see what does well with our soil and climate. So wish us luck!

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