red grape · rare
Valdiguié
Quercy (Lot / Tarn-et-Garonne), France
Say it
val·dee·gyay
Final '-uié' collapses to one syllable; rhymes with 'yay'
On the palate
strawberryraspberryred cherrycranberryvioletelderflower
How you spot it blind: deep purple color belying a light, high-acid, low-tannin structure
The story
First written down · 1874, Quercy, France
French ampelographer Pierre Galet correctly identified California's 'Napa Gamay' as Valdiguié by ampelography in 1980; the U.S. banned the synonym from wine labels effective 1997.
Where it lives
California, United States · Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Shows up as
still redrosé
If you like this, try
Also answers to Napa Gamay.
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