Chambourcin

Chambourcin is a French-American interspecific hybrid grape variety used for making wine. Its parentage is uncertain. The hybrid was produced by Joannes Seyve who often used Seibel hybrids produced in the 1860s. The grape has only been available since 1963. Chambourcin has a good resistance to fungal disease. Chambourcin is one of the parents of the new disease resistant variety, Regent, which is increasing in popularity among German and Okanagan Valley grape growers.

Chambourcin Wine

The grape produces a deep-colored wine with a full aromatic flavor, and no unpleasant hybrid flavors. It can be made into a dry style or one with a moderate residual sugar level, giving it a pleasant but not overbearing sweetness. Chambourcin wines are often served with dark chocolate (or desserts made from the chocolate), as the flavors of the wine and chocolate intermingle exceptionally well.

Wine regions

Chambourcin has been planted widely in the mid-Atlantic region of North America particularly in states like New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. It is also grown in Harrow & Ruthven Ontario and in Kelowna B.C. Canada , Floyd, Wythe, and Fauquier Counties, Virginia, Harford County, Maryland, Maryland"s Eastern Shore, Daviess County, Kentucky, Greenbrier, Calhoun, Roane, and Mineral Counties in West Virginia, Allegan County, Michigan, the Shawnee Hills AVA of southern Illinois, Monroe County, Indiana, the Yadkin Valley and Haw River Valley of North Carolina, Eastern Missouri, south-central Kansas, the Hunter Valley and other warm, humid regions in Australia, and also in France, although it can not be sold as a quality wine in Europe.

In Australia, Chambourcin is often found in smaller wineries, especially within the Riverina region and the South East Coast particularly in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. The wine there has a deep purple colour and produces longer depth than most hybrids and leaves a full-bodied taste on the palate.

References