Landal noir is a redhybrid grapevariety that was created during a series of trials between 1929 and 1942 by Frenchgrape breederPierre Landot at hisConzieu nursery in theAin department of eastern France. The grape is acrossing of twoSeibel grapes,Plantet and Seibel 8216. While authorized for use in severalFrench wine growing region, the grape is officially not recommended for use in any quality wine production in France with only 49 hectares (120 acres) of the variety reported in 2008. Outside France, some plantings of Landal noir can be found inSwitzerland,Canada and theUnited States.[1]
Landal noir was created during a series of trials between 1929 and 1942 at Pierre Landot's Ain nursery in the commune of Conzieu. The grape is acomplex hybrid with a lineage that includes members of several species of the genusVitis beginning with its parent varieties, the Seibel grapes Plantet (Seibel 5455) and Seibel 8216.[1]
From its parent Plantet (a Seibel 4461 x Berlandieri crossing), Landal noir inherited genes from theVitis berlandieri,Vitis vinifera (through great-grand parentBourboulenc and great-great grandparentAramon),Vitis aestivalis,Vitis cinerea andVitis rupestris species.[1][2][3][4]
From parent Seibel 8216 (a Seibel 5410 xFlorental crossing), Landal noir is related to several other Seibel grape varieties includingCinsaut Seibel (Seibel 2510) and Seibel 867 (a crossing ofNoah andVivarais).[1]
Landal noir is anearly ripening and earlybudding grape variety that is very winter hardy and is able to withstand cold temperatures and spring frosts. Unlike many other hybrid varieties and despite having genes from several native North American vine species in its lineage, Landal noir is still susceptible to theviticultural hazard ofphylloxera which means that plantings of the grape need to begrafted onto resistantrootstock.[1]
The vine tends to be very vigorous, producing a largecanopy, and fertile, capable of producing highyields of small clusters of similarly small berries.[1]
While Landal noir is still an authorized grape variety for several French wine regions (none of which is makingAppellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) wines which is prohibited from using hybrid grapes under Frenchwine laws), the variety is not officially recommended for use in any quality wine production. Plantings of the grape have been steadily declining for decades with only 49 hectares (120 acres) reported in 2008, mostly concentrated in theLoire Valley andVendée department.[1]
Outside France there were 0.06 hectares (0.15 acres) of Landal noir planted in theCanton of Geneva in Switzerland. In North America, the grape was first planted inOntario during the 1980s with small plantings still there and inQuebec. InPennsylvania, the grape is often used as a blending variety with the French-American hybrid grapeChambourcin.[1]
The only official synonym for Landal noir listed in theVitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is its breeder code of Landot 244.[5]
