Gwäss

The name Gwäss was first recorded in 1823. It's a vigorous high-yielding variety and traditionally produced wines with high acidity. Chanton's clean winemaking has tamed the acidity producing a very refreshing wine. It would go well served chilled with lightly spiced Asian food, pasta dishes, or seafood such as mussels and oysters.

• The 2006 has aged beautifully, only a few bottles left.

• The 2010 is ready to drink but should preferably be given a few more years (GONE).

• The 2011 is for laying down.

Gwäss is a synonym for Gouais Blanc, a white grape variety that is believed to have originated in Croatia and which is important as the ancestor of many modern French and German wine varieties.

This may have been the grape given to the Gauls by Probus (Roman Emperor 276-282) who overturned Domitian's decree banning grape growing north of the Alps.

By the Middle Ages it was the most widely grown white grape in northeast France and in Central Europe. Gouais Blanc was the grape of the peasantry. Indeed the name Gouais derives from the old French ‘gou’, a term of derision befitting its traditional status as the grape of the peasants. Normally growng on flat land next to the better slopes where the nobility grew Pinot. Having been widely grown in proximity to Pinot, the two varieties had many opportunities to cross and Gwäss is believed to be parent to many other varieties, the better known of which are modern day Chardonnay, Aligoté, Auxerrois, Gamay, Colombard and Riesling.