lo Oct.. 1910.] llic }Viii€ / iidustry ill Souilicni France. 667 



coming in late yield musts of such graxity as to present practical difficul- 

 ties in the wax of their conversion into dry wine. The admixture of a 

 judiciously calculated proportion of such later ripening sorts as Aramon 

 and Carignane would enable the grower to rectify anomalies and to be 

 master of the situation in spite of adverse climatic conditions. In seasons 

 when not thus required these grapes could be vintaged separately, and used 

 for other purposes, such as distillation, the heavy yields obtained from them 

 enabling the return per acre to equal that of the less prolific varieties 

 we now make our export wines from. 



The Bouschet Hybrids. *- W'e must now briefly consider a group of 

 varieties which present more interest, perhaps, in France than in Australia, 

 where lack of colour in the wine is seldom complained of. 



With the enormous yields referred to. in connexion with the two last- 

 mentioned sorts, it is certainly not surprising that colour should often 

 prove deficient. In order to correct this defect M. Bouschet de Bernard 

 and his son undertook, in the early fifties of last century, the raising of 

 new varieties, by crossing the different vines of the Midi with the Teinturier 

 du Cher, which differs from most European red sorts bv the deep red 

 colour of its juice. All the usual red varieties have colourless juice, the 

 pigmicnt being contained in the skin. Many new vines were thus obtained. 



Petit Bouschet is one of the oldest of the group. It is very largely 

 grown in the region on account of its heavy yields and the deep colour of 

 its wine ; it is a cross between Aramon and Teinturier, which yields crops 

 of up to 1.000 gallons per acre in rich soils. Apart from its colour and 

 fertiluy this cross has little to recommend it, its wine being otherwi.se flat 

 and characterless. It is less susceptible to downy mildew than most Midi 

 varieties. 



Alicante Bouschet, also known as Alicante Henri Bouschet, is a 

 cross between the former and Grenache (known in .se\eral parts of Southern 

 France as Alicante). This is one of the best of the group. Though not 

 quite such a heavy bearer as Petit Bouschet, it is very prolific, whilst the 

 wine made from it is markedly superior in every way. This sort is worth 

 a trial in Victoria. In Southern France, when grafted on Riparia Grand 

 Glabre, it proved \ery liable to apoplexy. It appears to give satisfaction 

 on the Riparin x Ruj^estris hvbrifls (,^306-9. etc.) than on flu Tot. It also 

 does well on the Berlandieri hybrid, 420A, etc. (Brunet). 



Grand Xoir de la Calmette. — Though the quality of its wine is- 

 not equal to the last, this wine is very largely grown. It is a heavy bearer 

 and does remarkably well grafted on Rupestris du Lot, this being a 

 favourite "combination'' of M. J. Leenhardt-Pomier in his fine vineyard 

 of Verchant (see February, 1910, Journal).! At Rutherglen College last 

 season this variety bore a very heavy crop. Its w^ne has a deep colour. 



AspiRAN Bouschet, though less prolific than .some others of the group, 

 is a heavy bearer, producing a wine of better quality than most of them. 

 According to Foex, its wine is the most highly-coloured grown in France. 



Brun Fourca and Calitor are heavy bearing varieties, ]:)roducing 

 wine of poor quality. They are much less cultivated now than formerly, 

 and are not e\en mentioned in Richter's catalogue. 



Terret Bourret, also known as Terret Gris (grey or ])ink). must not 

 be confounded with Terret Bouschet, one of the Bouschet hybrids. Three 

 varieties of Terret were formerly cultivated, viz., red, pink, and white. 



* Though currently tenued liybrids this term is not strictly correct— a hybrid is a cross between two 

 distinct species. In the ca?e of the so-caded Bouschet liybrids, both parents belong to one species, viz., 

 "\'. Viiiifera 



t Pierre \'ialla escribes 63 in his monograph Lex Uijbrides Bouschet. 



