The Wine Reference🍷 SupportColombard grape
Colombard is a white grape known for citrus, apple, herbs. Its best-known homes are Gascony, South Africa.
Origin and history
From the Charentes and Gascony in south-west France; DNA shows it is a cross of Chenin Blanc and Gouais Blanc.
Where it grows
Côtes de Gascogne IGP and Cognac in France, South Africa (Western Cape), California's Central Valley and Australia's Riverland.
Structure
Light to medium body, high, crisp acidity and moderate alcohol; usually dry or off-dry and unoaked.
Aromas, young and aged
Young: lime, green apple, grapefruit, guava and grassy herbs. Rarely aged; it fades quickly after a couple of years.
Ageing
Drink within 1–2 years.
Also known as
French Colombard (California, South Africa).
Good to know
It was historically grown to distil into Cognac and Armagnac; the 1980s rise of fresh Côtes de Gascogne whites gave it a second life as table wine.
Wine regions for Colombard
Similar white grapes
Explore all grapes in the interactive guide
The Wine Reference newsletter
New wines, stories and career guides, one email a week at most.
Over 18s only. Unsubscribe any time with one click. Your email is stored securely by Kit and never shared.
Support The Wine Reference
This guide is free, with no paywall. If it helped you choose a bottle, you can buy me a glass and keep it growing.
🍷 Buy me a glass