Highly productive white-wine grape that is one of the most widely planted vines in California, where it’s called French Colombard. The California acreage expanded dramatically (mostly in the SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY) during the 1970s and early 1980s because of this grape’s ability to grow in hot climates and still create decent wine. Colombard produces a crisp, moderately DRY, SPICY wine with FLORAL attributes and good ACIDITY. It’s used extensively in blending—usually with CHENIN BLANC—to make JUG WINES and less-expensive SPARKLING WINES. The Colombard VARIETAL WINES, which are usually produced in cooler growing regions like MENDOCINO COUNTY and LAKE COUNTY, are not as popular as other California whites. In France’s Charente district where it originated and was used mainly in the production of COGNAC, Colombard has largely been replaced by the Saint-Émilion (TREBBIANO) variety. It’s still grown in parts of BORDEAUX, although the Colombard wines are generally uninteresting. Colombard is, however, making a comeback in France, mainly because French winemakers in some of the hotter growing areas have observed that they can produce quality wines from this grape by adopting some of California’s more modern VINIFICATION techniques. Colombard is popular in South Africa, where it’s called Colombar, and is now being grown in the hotter growing regions in Texas.