Cabernet Franc: Back to Winemaking – Back to Grapes – Back to Countries
Top thirteen grapes:
Reds – Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon – Malbec – Merlot –
Whites – Chardonnay – Gewürztraminer – Muscat –
Pinot blanc – Pinot gris – Riesling – Sauvignon blanc
Next twenty-five grapes:
Reds – Barbera – Carignan – Gamay – Grenache – Mourvèdre – Petit Verdot –
Sangiovese – Tannat – Tempranillo – Touriga Nacional – Zweigelt
Whites – Albariño – Aligoté – Arinto – Chenin blanc – Malvasia –
Müller-Thurgau – Muscat-Ottonel – Sémillon – Tămâioasă Românească –
Traminer – Ugni-blanc – Viognier – Welschriesling
– and Cava
| Its name is suggested as meaning‘black vine of France’. The grape is called Bouchet in Bordeaux, where it has grown since at least the seventeenth century. In the Loire, Cabernet Franc is called Breton.  Image source: vinepair.com Cabernet Franc’s history begins many hundreds of years ago in the Basque country, where southwest France meets Spain. It is very popular in the Libournais region of Bordeaux, particularly on the Right Bank of the Gironde. Its second home is Touraine in the Loire Valley, where it produces lighter styles due to a cooler climate. Cabernet Franc is a parent of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Carménère and gives them a hint of mint or green bell pepper. It can be lighter or bolder depending on where it is grown, yet always tasty.  Image source: winefolly.com Cabernet Franc is a parent to Cabernet Sauvignon, the crossing occurred sometime during the middle of the 17thc around Bordeaux, France. Cabernet Sauvignon has more alcohol and tannin, more body and colour. Cabernet Franc is more aromatic. The two varieties are regularly grown together and blended into the same wine. Cabernet Franc is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style. James Busby took Cabernet Franc vines to Australia in 1832. |
 Image: www.vintageroots.co.uk Taste/smell: Cabernet Franc has a distinctive bell-pepper aroma. It also smells like red fruits and pencil lead. In cooler climates it has violet notes, in warmer climates it has dried fruit flavours with cayenne pepper notes. Other suggestions are Blackcurrant, Plum, Raspberry and Strawberry; or as Bell Pepper, Chili Pepper, Crushed Gravel, Cured meats, Dead leaves, Pencil lead, Tobacco… Varieties/Mutations The Cabernet Franc grapevine is more prone to mutation than Cabernet Sauvignon, though less than Pinot Noir. Prominent Cabernet Franc wines: Chinon, Bourgueil, Fronsac, Graves, Médoc, Pomerol, Saint-Émilion and Saumur-Champigny |  Description: Image source: www.plantgrape.fr It is thin skinned creating wines that are more moderate in tannin and lighter in colour and body than Cabernet Sauvignon. The berries are round.  Image source: www.plantgrape.fr Its young leaves are greenish-red with bronze spots, adult leaves have three or five lobes, the lower side of the leaves has a low density of prostrate hairs. |
| Cabernet France producing countries: Big Five Producers: (overall 42% of vineyards, 64% of wine production and 41% of wine consumption – OIV 2022) Spain: Castilla la Mancha, Catalonia and Valencia. France: Bordeaux, Loire and Madiran. Italy: Friuli and Veneto. USA: New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington. Chile: Maipo Valley. Next Ten Largest Producers: (with big five, responsible overall for 75% of vineyards, 88% of wine production, 64% of wine consumption – OIV 2022) Argentina: Jujuy, La Pampa, Mendoza and Patagonia. Australia: South Australia and Victoria. China: Shanxi.. Germany: Palatinate and Pfalz, India: Karnataka. New Zealand: Hawkes Bay. Portugal: Açores and Trás-os-Montes, Romania: none found. South Africa: Cape South Coast, Cape Winelands, Coastal Region. Turkey: Aegean and Marmara. Others countries growing Cabernet/Franc: Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Kazakhstan, Slovenia, Switzerland, Uruguay, | Grape is also known as: Aceria (Basque Country), Achéria, Ardounet (Béarn), Arrouya, Beron, Bidure (Graves), Bordeaux (Switzerland), Bordo (Romania), Boubet (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Bouchet Franc (Saint-Émilion and Pomerol), Bouchet Saint-Émilion, Bouchy (Madiran and Béarn), Breton (Val de Loire),Burdeas tinto, Cabernet, Cabernet Aunis, Cabernet franco, Cabernet Francese, Cabernet Franc Noir, Cabernet Frank, Cabernet gris, Cabrunet (Pomerol), Capbreton Rouge (Landes), Carbonet, Carbouet, Carmenet (Médoc), Couahort (Béarn), Cros Cabernet, Crouchen Negre, Crouchen Noir, Fer Servandou, Gamput, Gros Bouchet (Saint-Émilion and Pomerol), Gros Cabernet, Grosse Vidure (Graves), Hartling, Kaberne Fran, Messanges rouge, Morenoa Véron Bouchy, Noir Dur, Petit fer, Petit Viodure, Petite Vidure, Petite Vignedure, Plant Breton (Chinon in Indre-et-Loire), Plant de l’Abbé Breton (Chinon in Indre-et-Loire), Plant des Sables, Sable Rouge (Tursan), Trouchet (Béarn), Trouchet noir, Tsapournako (Greece), Verdejilla Tinto (Aragón in Spain), Véron (Nièvre and Deux-Sèvres), Véronais, Vidure, Vuidure,… |
Image source: thebacklabel.com
Cabernet Franc: Back to Winemaking – Back to Grapes – Back to Countries
Top thirteen grapes:
Reds – Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon – Malbec – Merlot –
Whites – Chardonnay – Gewürztraminer – Muscat –
Pinot blanc – Pinot gris – Riesling – Sauvignon blanc
Next twenty-five grapes:
Reds – Barbera – Carignan – Gamay – Grenache – Mourvèdre – Petit Verdot –
Sangiovese – Tannat – Tempranillo – Touriga Nacional – Zweigelt
Whites – Albariño – Aligoté – Arinto – Chenin blanc – Malvasia –
Müller-Thurgau – Muscat-Ottonel – Sémillon – Tămâioasă Românească –
Traminer – Ugni-blanc – Viognier – Welschriesling
– and Cava
