| Calitor | |
|---|---|
| Grape (Vitis) | |
 Calitor (Blavette) in Viala & Vermorel | |
| Color of berry skin | Noir |
| Species | Vitis vinifera |
| Also called | Calitor noir and other synonyms |
| Origin | France |
| VIVC number | 2000 |
Calitor or Calitor noir is a red French wine grape variety. It was previously widely cultivated in southern France, in particular in Provence, but is now very rare, almost extinct. Historically used as mainly a blending variety, Calitor gives high yields and produces a light-bodied and lightly colored wine. When grown on hillside sites, it can give a wine of character.[1]
Calitor is a very old variety that was first noted growing in southern France in 1600. The grape has produced two color mutations, Calitor blanc, which has been growing in the Costières de Nîmes region since at least 1782, and a pink-berried Calitor gris which are both not widely grown. Plantings of Calitor noir, itself, have been steadily declining since the early 20th century as French wine producers turned first to the more reliably productive Aramon noir and later to higher quality international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. In 1968, there were 319 hectares (790 acres) of Calitor noir in France but by 2008 that number had dropped to just 31 hectares (77 acres).[2]
- ^ Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Calitor". Oxford Companion to Wine (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
- ^ J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours pgs 131, 176 Allen Lane 2012 ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2