| Picardan | |
| Color: | Blanc |
| Species: | Vitis vinifera |
| Also Called: | Araignan, Oeillade blanche, Picardan blanc |
| Origin: | France |
| Regions: | Southern Rhône |
| Notable Wines: | Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC |
Picardan or Picardan blanc is a white wine grape which is one of 13 permitted blending grapes within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC in Rhône wine region in France, although very little planted.[1] [2] The Vitis International Variety Catalogue previously listed Oeillade blanche as the primary name of the variety,[3] but now identifies Araignan as the primary name.[4] However, since the variety is practically unknown for any other use than the Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend, it most commonly goes under the name used for it in that appellation.
Picardan gives a wine which considered to be light and rather neutral in character.[1]
Picardan is also the name of a historical white wine from Languedoc, usually sweetish in character, traded in the late 17th and 18th centuries.[2] It is supposed to have been produced from the varieties Clairette blanche and Piquepoul blanc.[5]
Synonyms include: Aragnan, Aragnan blanc, Araignan, Araignan blanc, Gallet, Gallet blanc, Grosse Clairette, Milhaud blanc, Oeillade blanche, Papadoux, Picardan, Picardan blanc, Piquardan, Piquardant.[3]
Picardan (but not Picardan blanc) is also a synonym for the white grape variety Bourboulenc,[6] which is also found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and the dark-skinned variety Bouchales.[7] Picardan noir is a synonym for Cinsaut[8] and Bouchales.
Despite the synonym Oeillade blanche, Picardan is not a color mutation of the Languedoc and Provence wine grape Oeillade noire.[9]