White wine the death knell of northern viticulture. The vine disappeared from northern Germany and Baden, and the maximum altitude for viticulture descended to 220 metres. Hans-Jürgen Otto noted that: "all the vineyards suffered and decreased in area". In England the vine also disappeared. The less early vineyards preferred to select white varieties of grapes because, even if unripe, white grapes allowed wine that was a little sour to still be consumable, while red grapes do not give enough colour and green tannins make the wine bitter. The interruption of the fermentation by a cold winter led to the discovery of the
Villard grapes vineyards of the northern Rhône Valley, today it is virtually eradicated from France. The few exceptions are isolated old vine plantings in the departments of Ardèche and Tarn which survived the vine-pulling period of the late 20th century. Today, both Villard grapes can be found in limited plantings in various American wines regions including Missouri, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. In New York State, Villard noir has a long history in the Finger Lakes AVA. The Villard grapes are known for their prolific yields, relative ease of cultivation and resistance to downy mildew. From a