Word on the vine - Colombard

Often blended with bolder partners, taken alone this lightly fruity grape is worth a second sip, explains Ben McCormack

THE GRAPE

Think of colombard and other grapes will probably spring to mind by word association, for this is one of the wine world’s great blenders, lending a backbone of acidity to chardonnay, sauvignon or chenin blanc without diluting more distinctive flavours. On its own, colombard produces crisp, lightly fruity and, most importantly, affordable wines. Production is focused in California, South Africa and, traditionally, south-west France, where it is also blended with ugni blanc and folle blanche to make Armagnac.

THE TASTE

Colombard’s fairly neutral flavour profile is what makes it so well suited to blending, but these pale-gold, light-to-medium-bodied wines do nonetheless hold their own in terms of taste: often guava, but also honeydew melon and white peach.

THE PAIRINGS

Subtly flavoured dishes that won’t overpower the wine will work a treat: sushi and grilled white fish, crab cakes (both British and Thai), salads and Southeast Asian stir-fries – go big on the lemongrass and easy on the chilli. Or enjoy a glass as an apéritif along with a handful of unsalted nuts.

THE VINES

The high-yielding, easy-to-farm colombard was once the most widely planted grape in California, particularly in the Central Valley, where the grape retains its acidity even in high temperatures. The vigorously growing grape thrives in warm climactic conditions, hence its success in South Africa. Colombard’s heartland, however, is Gascony, although many vines were pulled up in the Seventies to make way for more fashionable varieties and grapes less susceptible to mildew.