Crouchen is a white South African and Australian wine grape variety that originated in the western Pyrenees of France but is now virtually extinct in France due to its high susceptibility to fungal diseases like powdery and downy mildew. The grape is known under a wide variety of synonyms including Clare Riesling and Cape Riesling though it is not related to the well known international variety Riesling. Recent European Union regulation aimed at standardizing wine labelling laws has encouraged wineries to move away from these synonyms but their use still persists.
History
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Records indicate that Crouchen was first shipped from France to the Clare Valley in South Australia in 1850. From there the grape became misidentified as both Semillon and Riesling before eventually being considered by the Australians to be a new variety known as Clare Riesling. In 1976 ampelographer Paul Truel positively identified the vines growing in Australia as the French variety Crouchen. Here is it is primarily used as a blending variety to enhance the aromas of white wines.