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Ugni blanc

Wine and spirits grape variety.

Origine & Réglementation

Surfaces cultivées

Description

Caractéristiques

Clones agréés

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Origin

This variety is originally from Italy (Tuscany) where it is grown under the name Trebbiano toscano.

Use

Wine and spirits grape variety.

Name of the variety in France

Ugni blanc

Synonymy

In the European Union, Ugni blanc is officially called by other names: Biancame (Italy), Talia (Portugal), Trebbiano (Cyprus, Malta) and Trebbiano toscano (Chypre, Italy Malta). These synonyms are officially recognized in France regarding plant propagation material.

Regulatory data

In France, Ugni blanc is officially listed in the "Catalogue of vine varieties" on the A list and classified. This variety is also listed in the catalogues of other Member States of the European Union: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain.

Evolution of cultivated areas in France

The figures provided are taken from vineyard land registers (IVCC, ONIVIT, ONIVINS), general agricultural censuses (SCEES-INSEE) and the current computerised vineyard register (DGDDI, FAM). Regional vine planting data is available on the following site: https://visionet.franceagrimer.fr/Pages/DonneesInteractivesDocs.aspx?sousmenu=observatoire%20de%20la%20viticulture.

Year		ha
1958		62399
1968		93762
1979		127468
1988		102973
1998		96740
2008		83182
2018		87039

Éléments de description

The identification is based on:
- the tip of the young shoot with a very high density of prostrate hairs,
- the yellow young leaves,
- the shoots with indistinct or flattened nodes,
- the large, non-uniforme light green adult leaves, entire or with three or five lobes, with a slightly open petiole sinus or with overlapping lobes, medium to long teeth with straight or convex sides, no anthocyanin coloration of veins, a twisted, involute on the edges, slightly goffered and blistered leaf blade, and on the lower side of the leaves, a medium density of prostrate hairs,
- the very long grape clusters, foxtail-shaped, sometimes fasciated on the tips,
- the round-shaped berries with skin that can become slightly pink when over ripe.

Genetic profile

Microsatellite	VVS2	VVMD5	VVMD7	VVMD27	VRZAG62	VRZAG79	VVMD25	VVMD28	VVMD32
Allele 1	131	223	249	176	194	246	240	243	249
Allele 2	141	229	253	180	200	252	254	247	271

Cultivation and agronomic skills

Ugni blanc is very vigorous. It is well adapted to varied training and pruning systems, as well as diverse cultural and environmental conditions (wide geographical area of cultivation). It is best if trellised, as it can be sensitive to the wind.

Susceptibility to Diseases and Pests

Ugni blanc is sensitive to downy mildew and eutypa dieback. It is also very sensitive to root-knot nematodes when it is grown ungrafted in sand. On the other hand, it is not very susceptible to phomopsis and grey rot on the grape clusters.

Phenology

Bud burst: 9 days after Chasselas.
Grape maturity: mid-season, 3 weeks and a half to 4 weeks after Chasselas.

Technological potential

The bunches are very large while the berries are small to medium in size. Depending on growing conditions, Ugni blanc can be used to produce relatively neutral and balanced dry white wines. It can also be used to make base wines to produce great quality spirits.

Clonal selection in France

The eleven certified Ugni blanc clones carry the numbers 384, 478, 479, 480, 481, 482, 483, 484, 485, 486 and 638. A conservatory of more than 400 clones is in the process of being set up in the wine-growing region of Cognac; the first part was planted in 2006.

Bibliographic references

- Catalogue des variétés et clones de vigne cultivés en France. Collectif, 2007, Ed. IFV, Le Grau-du-Roi, France.
- Documentary collections of the Centre de Ressources Biologiques de la Vigne de Vassal-Montpellier, INRAE - Institut Agro | Montpellier, Marseillan, France.
- Dictionnaire encyclopédique des cépages et de leurs synonymes. P. Galet, 2015, Ed. Libre&Solidaire, France.
- Traité général de viticulture, Ampélographie. P. Viala and V. Vermorel, 1901-1909, Ed. Masson, Paris, France.
- Registro nazionale delle varieta di vite. Ministère de l’agriculture italien, under the name "Trebbiano Toscano", [web site, visited in 2020].

Description of clones approved in France

In this section, the list of certified clones is given. Information on clone conservatories is also provided.

Clone number
Brand
Origin

Region, department or winegrowing region in which the “clone mother plant” was identified and selected.
Selection

Body or bodies which selected the clone. In France, clonal selection is the responsibility of the selection organisations (themselves accredited by the ministry in charge of agriculture), usually in close collaboration with a technical partner working in a winegrowing region. For clones certified after 1999, the name of the partner or partners who took part in the selection work is also included. (NB: CA = Chamber of Agriculture).
Year of approval

Year in which the clone was certified by the FranceAgriMer board further to a proposal by the Vine section of the CTPS (Permanent Technical Committee for Plant Selection).
Agronomic Reference

Region, department or winegrowing region in which the agronomic and technological data were collected.
Surface in multiplication

Surface area in hectares (ha) of stock nurseries used for propagation for the year under consideration (in brackets), which allows the available potential to be evaluated. Clones with a surface area of between 0.01 and 0.10 ha are shown as <0.10 ha. Clones of limited dissemination, but for which we have technical data, are shown as <0.01 ha. Other clones are given as “low-dissemination clone”, which means that the clone has been certified only recently or has not been propagated. In both cases, only the initial material is planted in the selection centres.