Vitis vinifera Pied de Perdrix - Grape Vine

The 'Pied de Perdrix' vine, sometimes called the 'Côt à queue rouge', an old and rare grape variety originating from Béarn and classified as a table grape vine, deserves to be rediscovered for the beautiful pink colour its small clusters of fruits take on in the sun and the deliciously sweet flavour of its crunchy little grapes. This medium vigour variety likes hot summers and clay-limestone soils. Harvest is from late August to late September depending on the regions.

The wine grape vine (Vitis vinifera) grew wild over 5000 years ago. Its introduction to France for cultivation was done by the Romans. Many hybrids were created to vary colours, flavours, and uses. The 'Pied de Perdrix' vine is part of a group of clones originating from the southwest of France that are gathered under the name 'Côt'. It is distinguished by the pink colour of the leaf stalks and the light colour of its fruiting. This vine is sensitive to leafhoppers, downy mildew, grey rot, and vine excoriose, which manifests as necrosis on young stems, and is somewhat resistant to powdery mildew. It is pruned short in March.

A sarmentous climbing shrub of medium vigour, the 'Pied de Perdrix' vine reaches about 4.50 m (15ft) in height or spread if not pruned. Its final shape will depend on the pruning practiced. It is a frugal sun-loving plant, not very demanding but sometimes capricious, which prefers a soil that is both clayey and stony, with a tendency towards limestone, but can be sensitive to heavy frost. Its long stems attach themselves to their support (trellis, espalier, etc.) through large green and voluble tendrils. Its finely cut foliage, a deep green in summer, turns the most beautiful gold in autumn. Its flowering occurs in May-June depending on the year and the region, offering very small greenish flowers gathered in short, sometimes branched, pyramid-shaped and cylindrical clusters, which are fairly dense. Its small round grapes have a fairly thick skin, ranging from pale yellow-green to golden yellow, turning pink in the sun and at full ripeness. Their pulp is sweet and mild in flavour. To give an indication of the season required, in Marseille, harvest begins on August 20-25, and rather late September in Bordeaux.

The 'Pied de Perdrix' grapes can be consumed as table grapes, as they are or incorporated into fruit salads, in the form of juice, or even in vitamin rich fruit cocktails. You can also use them to decorate a pergola, a trellis, or train them against a sunny wall.