Mourvedre

Main characteristics of Mourvedre grapes

The Mourvedre variety originates from Spain, where it is widely distributed in Catalonia and Valencia, and has also been known since deep antiquity in the south of France under the name Espar. In the middle of the XIX century, its vines were brought to Crimea, establishing a strong presence on the South Coast, from where the cultivar subsequently spread to the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia. Currently, pure commercial vineyards are concentrated in Crimea and the Krasnodar Krai, with smaller areas occupied in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. This grape belongs to the category of technical varieties of the very late ripening period. Full technological maturity of the berries in the Yalta region occurs by early October.

Morphological characteristics of vegetative and generative organs of the variety:

• Formed leaf: Medium-sized, dark green, relatively flat in structure, with a weakly expressed downturning of the margins. The leaf blade is almost entire or weakly sectioned, predominantly three-lobed. The upper side of the leaf blade is matte, with a reticulate-rugose surface. The lower side is covered with a dense cobwebby pubescence that transitions into an almost tomentose layer.
• Leaf incisions and sinuses: Upper incisions are shallow, formed as incoming angles or narrow slots; open lyre-shaped incisions of medium depth or closed ones with narrow openings are recorded in rare cases. Lower incisions are absent or barely marked morphologically. The petiolar sinus is mostly open broadly lyre-shaped, characterized by a rounded or slightly pointed bottom, with a closed form featuring an ovate opening fixed occasionally.
• Teeth: Large and triangular at the ends of the leaf lobes, with a tendency toward apexes drawn out into a sharp point. Marginal teeth along the perimeter of the blade are very sharp and triangular-serrate.
• Bunch: Predominantly medium-sized, with a length within 12–16 cm. The shape is conical or cylindro-conical, and the structure stands out for its very high density and well-developed upper lobes. Bunches have short, thick peduncles with a distinct woody structure.
• Berry: Medium-sized, round, with biological deviations to a weakly oval shape. The coloration is dark blue, and the surface is covered with a thick layer of waxy bloom. The skin is thick and fairly durable, and the pulp is juicy and melting.

Agricultural practices of the Mourvedre variety

Vines are characterized by strong growth vigor. Cultivar productivity is strictly dependent on soil and climatic conditions: in arid regions, the yield is evaluated as medium, whereas on irrigated vineyards and sufficiently moist soils, the indicators become very high. The plants possess hermaphroditic flowers. A biological advantage of the variety is the late budburst, due to which the vegetative organs are significantly less damaged by late spring frosts. A significant disadvantage is the extremely high susceptibility to infection by major fungal diseases. The variety is officially included in the state standard assortments of Crimea and the Turkmen SSR.

Consumption and harvest processing capabilities

The technological potential of the harvest is oriented primarily toward winemaking due to the juicy pulp and ordinary flavor profile of the berries with a slight astringency. Because of the biologically low sugar content and poor concentration of coloring substances, the harvested grape yields simple, weakly colored table wines in most processing regions. An exception is formed by separate foothill micro-zones with clayey-gravelly soils, where the winemaking products acquire high quality. The main direction of commercial utilization of the raw material in southern regions is the production of fortified wines such as red port.