Bouvier (grape)

Bouvier
Grape (Vitis)
Color of berry skin	Blanc
Species	Vitis vinifera
Also called	see 'Synonyms'
Origin	Austria-Hungary (present-day Slovenia)
Original pedigree	Pinot × Muscat à Petits Grains
Formation of seeds	Complete
Sex of flowers	Hermaphrodite

Bouvier is a white wine grape and table grape planted primarily in Central Europe—most notably in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, where it is also known as Ranina.

In Austria, where it was grown on 365 hectares (900 acres) as of 1999, Bouvier is used primarily for Sturm—a seasonally produced semi-fermented grape must—and young-bottled wines. In Germany, Bouvier was cultivated on 31 ha (77 acres) as of 2004.

Bouvier ripens very early, is resistant to frost, and gives a rather low yield. Its wines are golden yellow, mild in taste and have a Muscat aroma.

Winery owner Clotar Bouvier (1853–1930) discovered a vine of this variety in his vineyard in Herzogburg, Ober-Radkersburg (in present-day Slovenia) in the year 1900. He used this vine as a basis for breeding and, after several years of selection, started to sell it, after which it became widely spread across Austria-Hungary. DNA profiling has revealed Bouvier to be a crossing (probably a natural one) of a Pinot variety (which could be Pinot noir, Pinot gris or Pinot blanc) and another, unidentified variety, possibly Muscat à Petits Grains according to the Vitis International Variety Catalogue.

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