Viognier

A vine variety originally from the northern Rhone valley. It is believed to have been introduced to France by Emperor Probo from Smyrnium, Croatia. It is cultivated on the island of Vis in Dalmatia under the name of Vugava or Bugava.

CULTIVATED AREA IN ITALY

YEAR	1970	1982	1990	2000	2010
HECTARES	–	–	n.d.	28	1.329

CULTIVATED AREA IN FRANCE

YEAR	1968	1979	1988	1998	2008	2018
HECTARES	14	54	82	2.100	3.255	6.740

Bud-burst period: early.
Ripening period: everage.
Yield: everage and regular.

Ampelographic characters:

the bud has a cottony white apex with carminate shades. The leaf is orbicular, three- or five-lobed with opened or little-opened petiolar sinus. The underside is slightly hairy. The medium-small, truncated-conical cluster is sometimes winged, tending to be compact. The small spheroid berry has a thick skin and an aromatic pulp.

Cultural aptitude:

vigorous vine, with upright growth habit; it prefers warm climates but not too dry, and not too fertile soils, deep, even slightly calcareous.

Training system and pruning:

it can be conveniently trained on espalier, better if on Guyot, with long pruning or spurred cordon with spurs of 3-4 buds. To obtain high quality products, it is necessary to adopt a high planting density.

Susceptibility to diseases and adverse conditions:

everage.

Enological potential:

it produces very aromatic wines with a prevalence of ripe fruits (peach, apricot), complex, of good structure and great quality. Sometimes they are lacking in acidity and have a bitterish aftertaste. Also suitable for blending (5-10%) with other wines there it adds aroma and structure.

Clones in propagation:

VCR154, VCR156, VCR192, VCR272; French clones: Inra-Entav 642.

Clones undergoing homologation procedure:

Viognier VCR155.

AGRONOMICAL AND ENOLOGICAL PERFORMANCES OF VIOGNIER INRA-ENTAV 642

VARIETY	CLONE	ORIGIN	HARVEST	TRAINING SYSTEM	NUMBER OF VINES/ha	AVERAGE PLANT WEIGHT Kg	YIELD t/ha	BRIX DEGREE	AC. TOT. in ac. tart. (g/l)	MUST ph
Viognier	cl. 642	VCR testing plot in Marche	2008	Guyot	4.000	2,4	9,6	25,7	5,4	3,97
Viognier	cl. 642	VCR testing plot in Marche	2009	Guyot	4.000	2,50	10,0	21,4	7,5	3,46
Viognier	cl. 642	VCR testing plot in Marche	2010	Guyot	4.000	2,50	11,25	21,4	6,8	3,64
EVERAGE DATA					4.000	2,47	10,28	22,83	6,57	3,69

	WINE TOTAL ACIDITY (g/l)	TARTARIC ACID (g/l)	MALIC ACID (g/l)	WINE Ph	NET DRY EXTRACT (mg/l)	ALCOHOL (% vol.)	REDUCING SUGARS (g/l)	VOLATILE ACIDITY (g/l)
	4,7	1,7	2,93	3,52	22,5	15,61	1,8	0,36
	6,4	2,18	2,37	3,02	18,6	12,98	1,3	0,17
	5,55	2,82	2,39	3,57	19,46	13,03	0,78	0,24
EVERAGE DATA	5,55	2,26	2,56	3,37	20,19	13,87	1,29	0,26