In an important and brave move, UK supermarket Tesco releases a wine made from a disease-resistant grape variety called Floreal
UK supermarket Tesco has made a brave move. They have launched a wine from a disease-resistant hybrid variety called Floreal, and put the name of this unknown variety on the label! The wine sells for £8 and is made by large French company Le Grand Chais. This is a really good thing to see: resistant varieties like these could massively reduce the carbon footprint of wine, but many producers avoid them because they think that unknown varieties will be impossible to sell. Tesco have taken a chance by leading the conversation, and it will be interesting to see how the wine is displayed in store (the wine was launched today, 5 August).
So what is Floreal?
Floreal is an interspecific cross: in other words, a hybrid. These resistant varieties are often referred to as PIWIs.
It was approved in the French national catalogue in 2018, and so far just one clone exists, called 1265. It is resistant to both powdery and downy mildew. It has two resistance genes to each, which is important to maintain resistance in the face of the ability of disease organisms to adapt and mutate: downy mildew (Rpv1 + Rpv3) and powdery mildew (Run1 + Ren3). It was bred by INRA (the French national agricultural research institute) in their ResDur program.
Floreal is a crossing of Villaris x Mtp 3159-2-12.
The two parents are themselves both hybrids. One is Villaris, a variety bred by the JKI Institute at Geilweilerhof, registered in 2011. It has resistance genes from American vines, mainly Vitis rupestris and V. aestivalis. The other is Mtp 3159-2-12, which was bred at INRA by the well known breeder Alain Bouquet (Montpellier), with resistant genes from V. rotundifolia.
The advantage of growing this variety is that it needs hardly any spraying, which saves money, is good for the environment, and reduces both carbon footprint and soil compaction.
What does it taste like?
Tesco Finest Floreal 2023 Vin de France
11% alcohol
£8 Tesco
Made for Tesco by Les Grands Chais de France. A resistant variety first approved in 2018. This is bright, zesty, sippy and fruity with clean citrus and pear fruit with a touch of green apple. It’s bright and expressive with lovely fruit, and nice purity. Great to see such an appealing, bright fruity white at this price made from a resistant variety. Let’s hope the customers embrace this unfamiliar variety. 87/100
