RARE GRAPE VARIETAL RESOURCE

Durize is a rare late-ripening grape varietal from the Fully-Saillon municipality, in the canton of Valais in the Rhône valley. In the 19th century, this grape varietal accounted for almost half of the cultivated vineyards in the municipality of Fully. Before 1850, durize and cornalin (or rouge du pays) were practically the only two red grape varieties in the canton of Valais.

In this area in ancient times, the wine growing areas were created by clearing the stony ground. The stones that were removed were left at the edge of the plots, where they were piled up to make retaining walls, as it was too difficult to transport them elsewhere. In Romansh these walls are called “murgères” and they were built as early as the fourteenth century: they are a type of wall that surrounds the vineyards and almost reinforces them, acting as a barrier or support. They sometimes have a rounded shape and are also sometimes flat in their upper section, where a sort of path that can be walked on is made. Today they are a characteristic feature of the vineyard areas of this part of Valais.

The first mention of the durize grape dates back to 1615 and is found in a survey of the vineyards of La Sarvaz, in Saillon. The vine most likely originated in the Aosta Valley, like many other red grape varieties from the Valais area. DNA tests carried out by the Valaisian ampelologist José Vouillamoz have not been able to identify the parent grape variety, but it is probably the 2nd degree descendant of the Aosta Valley’s roussin, making this variety a great-grandson of Cornalin, an emblematic Valais grape variety.

The name “durize” should not be confused with “urize” which is another grape variety, but is the colloquial name of the Rouge de Fully; according to Aebischer (1937) its Latin origin is durasia (or duratia), a vulgar form of the word duracinus meaning “hard skin”, an adjective referring to its rather thick skin.

The durize variety has small, pentagonal, trilobate and green leaves; the bunch is small to medium when ripe. The berry is small or medium, spherical to elliptical and blue to black in colour. The skin is thick and offers a good natural resistance to hail. It is harvested in November, as late as possible, in order to achieve the highest possible sugar content.

The resulting wine, which is also called durize, has an intense red and slightly purplish colour, it has aromas of black cherry, cooked plum and red fruits, unrefined tannins and a marked acidity. In terms of texture, the durize resembles that of Humagne Rouge. Fermentation is done naturally and is achieved by pressing the berries with 10% of them in whole bunches. The first 20 to 25 days of fermentation are done in stainless steel tanks, after this the wine spends six months in 400 litre oak barrels that have already been used three times to make shiraz, this practice is useful as it gives oxygen to the wine and does not leave harsh notes of wood.

It is best used as an aged wine. It takes at least 5 to 6 years, or even 10 years, of aging for durize to develop all its qualities.

The durize vine is now very rare, and the production of durize wine takes place only in a few wineries in the Fully-Saillon municipalities.

The area which is used to cultivate this grape in Valais, that is limited to the Fully-Saillon municipalities, is less than one hectare. In 2010, the area used to cultivate the durize grape was only 0.65 hectares (OFAG, L’Année viticole 2010). In 2020 it increased to 9010 m2 (0.90 hectares), according to data sent by the head of the Agricultural Service of the Canton of Valais.

Climate change appears to have had a positive effect on durize wine, resulting in a higher sugar content and limiting the excessive acidity that once characterised it in the past.

(Courtesy of Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity – Ark of Taste) https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/durize-grape/

Help us populate this website. Whatever verifiable information you could provide re: this varietal or others (story pertaining to the varietal, description, producer, importer etc...) would be appreciated.