Grape Hybrids - French Hybrids

At some point in each person's wine drinking lifetime, talk will turn from the more traditional grapes such as Chardonnay and Zinfandel. Someone will mention a Baco Noir as going wonderfully with BBQ. They will comment casually that these are French Hybrids, or American Hybrids. What exactly is a hybrid, and what does that mean for the wine's flavor?

First, a comment on wine grapes in general. Grapevines are traditionally planted by making cuttings of existing plants. This means that Chardonnay vines growing in Napa Valley are actually from the same plant as the Chardonnay growing in Chablis, France. This also means these plants are in essence the same plant as was growing 500 years ago, creating wines for French nobility. These aren't daughter plants, or plants grown from seeds from a common ancestor. It is actually same physical plant in most cases.

Sure, sometimes mutations happen. As a plant grows, its cells might subtly change. Pinot Noir is known for this. If a branch grows with this new mutation, a vine grown from that branch will be slightly different from the vine it was taken from. In general, though, a Chardonnay will produce wine of X flavor, have grapes of Y shape, and require Z conditions to grow properly.

What about the areas of the world where typical grapes do not grow well? This is where the development of hybrids come in - customizing combination of grapes to grow delicious wine even in not-perfect conditions.


American Hybrids



French Hybrids



So, it's a Hybrid...


Hybrid vs Cross vs Blend

Wine Glossary Main Listing
H Glossary Words
