Meunier [muh-NYAY]

from

French red grape that is the most widely cultivated variety in France’s CHAMPAGNE region, even though its relative, PINOT NOIR, and CHARDONNAY get most of the attention. Meunier is used extensively in the region’s SPARKLING WINES, usually blended with these other two varieties. The name for this grape is French for “miller,” derived from the fact that the white underside of its leaves looks like sifted flour. This variety’s positive properties include more fruitiness and higher ACIDITY than Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, an ability to better survive in the coolest areas of the Champagne region, and higher yields than Pinot Noir. Australia, which produces limited amounts of 100-percent Meunier STILL WINE, and Germany are the only other areas to grow Meunier in any quantity, although California’s sparkling wine-makers have emulated French producers by planting it in the cooler growing regions like CARNEROS. Meunier is also known as Gris Meunier, Plant Meunier, Pinot Meunier, Müllerrebe, and Schwarzriesling.