Arbane

Did You Know?

• Arbane is a vigorous but low yielding variety that ripens mid to late in the harvest season.
• The vine produces small bunches of little berries.
• The main viticultural hazard for Arbane is downy mildew.

History

Arbane has a long history of cultivation in the southern Champagne wine region, especially around Bar-sur-Aube. Its name is thought to derive from the medieval Latin albana, meaning "white grape," though it has no known connection to the Italian Albana grape. Some ampelographers speculate that an Alban grape recorded in Les Riceys in 1388 may be the earliest mention of Arbane, but others question whether that 14th-century grape is the same variety as the modern Arbane. By the turn of the 19th century, the grape was widely established in Champagne, and in 1801 Jean-Antoine Chaptal noted that it produced highly regarded wine in Morveaux near Baroville.

Wine regions

Arbane is a permitted grape variety in Champagne production but is very rarely used, with less than 1 hectare planted throughout France in 2006. Most of these plantings are very old and used by Moutard-Diligent for a varietal Vieilles Vignes bottling and a cuvée using six of the seven authorized Champagne varieties. Arbane may be used in regular vintage and non-vintage cuvées, but not in Blanc de Blanc, provided the grapes are harvested at a yield no greater than 65 hectoliters/hectare and the wine attains at least 11% alcohol.