Merlot blanc

Merlot blanc is a white French wine grape variety that came from a natural crossing of the Bordeaux wine grape Merlot and the Cognac grape Folle blanche.[1] The grape is distinct from Merlot gris which is a pink-skinned color mutation of the red wine grape Merlot and is sometimes used in vin gris and rosé wines. Plantings of Merlot blanc were first discovered in 1891 but cuttings of the vine have not been widely propagated and the variety is very rare. It is not used to make the sweet White Zinfandel-style wine White Merlot that is made by some California wine producers. Those wines are made from a saignee of red Merlot wine.[2]

  1. ^ Boursiquot, J.-M.; Lacombe, T.; Laucou, V.; Julliard, S.; Perrin, F.-X.; Lanier, N.; Legrand, D.; Meredith, C.; This, P. (2009). "Parentage of Merlot and related winegrape cultivars of southwestern France: discovery of the missing link". Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research. 15 (2): 144–155. doi:10.1111/j.1755-0238.2008.00041.x. ISSN 1322-7130.
  2. ^ Robinson, Jancis; Harding, Julia; Vouillamoz, José (2012). Wine grapes : a complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours. London: Allen Lane. pp. 630–633. ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2.