Folle Blanche

Folle Blanche was the traditional grape variety of the Cognac and Armagnac regions of France. It is also known as Picpoule (with various variations of spelling (Piquepoul, Picpoul), although it is in fact unrelated to the Picpoul of the Languedoc) as well as Gros Plant and Enrageat Blanc. Folle Blanche is an offspring of Gouais Blanc, with the other parent so far unidentified.

It has been mostly replaced by its hybrid offspring Baco Blanc due to phylloxera damage. Baco Blanc (also known as Baco 22 A) is a cross of Folle Blanche and the Vitis riparia × Vitis labrusca hybrid Noah. Folle Blanche is also the parent of the very hardy and disease-resistant Baco 1 (or Baco noir), a cross of Folle Blanche and a Vitis riparia variety. Baco noir and Baco 22 A, like Folle Blanche and their other parents, produce a very acid wine. This makes them more suited to distillation than less acidic grapes.

Folle Blanche is used in the Loire Valley area around Nantes to produce Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, a very dry and often tartly acidic VDQS wine that pairs well with shellfish. Approximately 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) are planted with the variety in the Loire Valley. There it is used both in the production of table wine as well as eau de vie.

References

1. Folle Blanche, Vitis International Variety Catalogue
2. IFV: Le Folle blanche B
3. Vallée de Loire: Les cépages du Val de Loire