The origin of this name is difficult to explain. There is nothing about the plant itself which suggests either one of the names by which it is known. It does not have a very exuberant vegetation, but only of the ordinary kind. It is, very productive; its fruit is thickly borne upon the bunch and the individual grapes are only of moderate size and not very much different from those of other varieties in this respect. Moreover, the Folle Blanche is known under other names in different parts of the country and even in the Charente. It will be unnecessary to give here a list of the various names by which this variety of grape is known. It is supposed by some authorities that the Folle Blanche is practically identical with a variety of grapes which grow upon the banks of the Rhine and also in Wurtemburg. There are marked differences between these fruits. The color of the grape when ripe is of a yellow green, the fruit being almost round, of moderate size, thickly gathered on the bunch and quite sweet in taste. There are many variations from these characteristic qualities, but they all more or less correspond to the original French form. As the grapes may be more light in color in one instance than another they are sometimes called Folle jaune, and when more green Folle verte.

Under some of the different names referred to this grape is widely extended throughout the vineyards of France, and from the west of France even to the Pyrenees and as far as Bretagne. It covers thus, more or less, a surface which is limited on the west by the ocean and on the east by a line which passes by Toulouse, Cahors and Orleans. The Folle Blanche develops early in spring.

Composition

In a bunch of grapes from the Folle Blanche vine it is found as a rule that the stem totals about 4.7 percent of the weight and the grapes about 95.3 percent. The composition of the grapes themselves is as follows:

Pulp.............................

87.22

percent

Skin.........................................................

9.9

percent

Seeds.......................................................

2.9

percent

The average composition of the juice of the Folle Blanche is as follows:

Specific gravity......................................................

1.077

Water........................................................................................................

78.93

Sugar......................................................................

16.95

Tartrate of lime......................................................

0.35

Free organic acids...................................................

0.61

Crude protein.........................................................

0.09

Crude fiber.............................................................

2.74

Ash..............................................................................................................

0.05

Insoluble fiber........................................................

0.28

From the above it is seen that the grapes of the Folle Blanche in the region of the Charente if used for a wine would have rather a low alcoholic content. Seventeen percent of sugar, the average which they contain, would not produce more than 8 1/2 percent of alcohol by weight in the wine, and this would be regarded as a light wine insofar as its alcoholic content is concerned.

Other varieties of grapes which are used in the Charente for brandy making may be mentioned, only by name:

Colombard, Saint-Emilion, Le Jurancon, Blanc-Rame, Balzac Blanc, Chalosse, Saint-Pierre, Bouilleaud, Saint-Rabier, Balzac Noir and Petit Noir.