As California winemakers look for grape varieties more tolerant to drought and heat, plantings of a rare French grape native to the Languedoc region of southern France are likely to rise. Picpoul Blanc, with only 48 acres bearing fruit in the state, has great growing potential, according to Paso Robles winemaker Jason Haas.
His winery, Tablas Creek Vineyard, was the first in California to work with the variety, after importing cuttings from France in 1995. “You can let the grapes hang a long time, so they develop tropical characters like piña colada — and they’ll still have super-bright acid.”
For a grape few have heard of in the U.S., Picpoul Blanc has a surprising number of superfans — especially here in Sonoma County, where winemakers are embracing its vibrant, racy edge (“picpoul” means “sting the lip” in French). At Marine Layer Wines in Healdsburg, winemaker Rob Fischer was “immediately intrigued” when he learned the owners of Three Oaks Farm on Sonoma Mountain had grafted about an acre and a half of Syrah over to Picpoul Blanc in 2022.
At Three Oaks Farm, the Picpoul is planted mid-slope, where cool temperatures can push ripening into October.
“You just have to be patient,” says Fischer. “It can express itself as a generic white grape, until it turns a corner late in the season when the acid drops and it develops these nice citrus flavors. That’s when I know we’re in action.”
In a region flooded with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Fisher commends Sonoma County winegrowers for planting less common varieties like Picpoul Blanc. “I live in Napa, but I love the fact you can grow so many different varieties in Sonoma County,” he says. “I’m really excited to see growers experimenting with these fringe varieties.”
Compared to Sonoma County, which has just 4 acres of Picpoul Blanc, the Lodi wine region of San Joaquin Valley has a whopping 12. That’s where winemaker Blair Guthrie of Guthrie Family Wines in Sonoma sources fruit. For his 2023 Faux Picpoul Blanc ($28), Guthrie picked relatively early to maintain the variety’s “electric acidity and lively pop.” As for the wine’s name, “Faux” — don’t be fooled. Guthrie’s wine is 100% Picpoul Blanc.
Winemaker William Allen has been producing a Picpoul Blanc at Two Shepherds Winery in Windsor since 2018, with fruit sourced from the little-known Windmill Vineyard in Yolo County’s Dunnigan Hills. “Our wine lives up to the name ‘lip stinger,’ but it also has texture and depth, which makes it great with oysters and crab,” he says.
In 2021, Allen went out on a limb and also made a sparkling canned wine called Natty Pets, a blend of Picpoul Blanc and Grenache Blanc. About 35% of the Picpoul was skin-fermented, which gave the wine a light orange hue.
“We launched it as a sparkling orange wine and everyone went ga-ga over it,” says Allen. “We doubled production of the wine last year, and we still sold out.”
Like others, Allen believes Picpoul Blanc is exceptionally well-suited to California’s Mediterranean climate.
“People need to stop planting Chardonnay in California and start planting Picpoul Blanc,” he says. “It loves the heat, it’s not prone to rot or mildew, it bears good yields and is easy to grow. It’s perfect for Picpoul.”
This story was originally published in The Press Democrat. Read the full story here.