page_title: Mondeuse noire
section_title: Relationship to other grapes
hierarchical_section_title: Mondeuse noire / Relationship to other grapes
caption_attribution_description: Cluster of Bonarda/Charbone/Douce noir grapes taken in Mendoza Agentina. Photo taken by lipecillo. Author's websites: www.facebook.com/lipecillo and www.flickr.com/lipecillo
context_page_description: Mondeuse noire is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Savoy region of eastern France. The grape can also be found in Argentina, Australia, California, Switzerland and Sicily. Plantings of Mondeuse noire was hit hard during the phylloxera epidemic of the mid to late 19th century which nearly wiped out the vine from eastern France. While the grape recovered slightly in the 20th century, French plantations of Mondeuse noire fell sharply in the 1970s, with just over 200 hectares left in France in 2000. In the early 21st century, it seems the variety has increased somewhat in popularity, as it can give good wines if the planting site is chosen carefully.
  It was previously suggested that Mondeuse noire was identical to the northern Italian wine grape variety Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso due to the similarity of the wines. In California, many plantings of Mondeuse noire were called Refosco, further adding to the confusion. DNA analysis has shown that this is not the case, and that the two varieties are unrelated.
context_section_description: Mondeuse noire was once thought to be dark-berried color mutation of Mondeuse blanche, a variety that is best known for being the mother vine to the Rhône wine grape Syrah.  However, in the early 21st century, DNA profiling showed that the two grapes actually had parent-offspring relationship though it is not yet known which grape is the parent and which is the offspring. This relationship makes Mondeuse noire, which is also known under the synonym Grosse Syrah, either a grandparent or half-sibling to Syrah.
  When Mondeuse noire was first introduced to California in the 19th century, some plantings of the vine were misidentified as the Italian wine grape Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso. This confusion was exacerbated in the 1960s when cuttings of Mondeuse noire labeled as "Refosco" were taken by the University of California, Davis from a vineyard in Amador County that was established in 1880s and propagated. In 1990s ampelographers began suspecting that these cuttings were not Refosco but rather Mondeuse noire, a fact later confirmed by DNA profiling.
  In addition to the confusion with Refosco, some plantings of Mondeuse noire in the Russian River Valley were discovered to actually be an offspring of Mondeuse noire, Calzin. This crossing of Mondeuse noire and Zinfandel was created by UC-Davis viticulturist Harold Olmo in 1937 and later developed a white-berried color mutation known as Helena. Also in the late 20th and early 21st century, it was discovered that some of the plantings of Petite Sirah were actually field blends of true Petite Sirah (Durif) as well as several other varieties including Mondeuse noire.
  Though the exact relationship is not yet known, DNA analysis has also shown that Mondeuse noire has some relationship to the Savoie wine grape Douce noir which is known as Charbono in California and Bonarda in Argentina.
caption: Though the exact relationship has not yet been determined, DNA analysis has shown that Mondeuse noire has some connection to Douce noir (pictured) that is grown in Argentina (as Bonarda) and California (as Charbono).
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