Mondeuse noire is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of eastern France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and Sicily. Plantings of Mondeuse noire was hit hard during the phylloxera epidemic of the mid to late 19th century which nearly wiped out the vine from eastern France. While the grape recovered slightly in the 20th century, French plantations of Mondeuse noire fell sharply in the 1970s, with just over 200 hectares left in France in 2000. In the early 21st century, it seems the variety has increased somewhat in popularity, as it can give good wines if the planting site is chosen carefully.
Mondeuse in Viala & Vermorel
Mondeuse noire is one of the grape varieties speculated to have been the Allobrogica grape described by Pliny the Elder (pictured) and other ancient Roman writers.
Though the exact relationship has not yet been determined, DNA analysis has shown that Mondeuse noire has some connection to Douce noir (pictured) that is grown in Argentina (as Bonarda) and California (as Charbono).
A Mondeuse noire wine from 2007 when Bugey was a Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) classified wine.
Poulsard is a red French wine grape variety from the Jura wine region. The name Ploussard is used mainly around the town of Pupillin but can appear on wine labels throughout Jura as an authorized synonyms. While technically a dark-skinned noir grape, the skins of Poulsard are very thin with low amounts of color -phenols and produces very pale colored red wines, even with extended maceration and can be used to produce white wines. Because of this, Poulsard is often blended with other red-skin varieties or used to produce lightly colored rosé wines. Additionally the grape is used to make blanc de noir white wines and sparkling cremants.
Poulsard grapes
A Poulsard from Arbois.
It is through the maceration process (example shown with Pinot noir) that color is leached from the skins into the fermenting must. However, the skins of Poulsard have a very low amount of color pigmentation so even after a week of extended maceration the must usually only has a very pale color.
A light red Jura wine made from Poulsard and Trousseau