The red grape variety is an interspecific new variety between Millardet et Grasset 101-14 (Riparia x Rupestris ) open-pollinated x Goldriesling (1). Synonyms are Foch, Kuhlmann 188-2, Marshal Foch and Marshal Fosh. Genes of Vitis riparia, Vitis rupestris and Vitis vinifera are included. The hybrid was crossed at the beginning of the 20th century at the Oberlin Institute in Colmar-Alsace by the breeder Eugène Kuhlmann (1858-1932). The vine is named after the French Marshal Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929), who became famous for the armistice conditions dictated to Germany in the forest of Compiègne after the First World War. This circumstance certainly played a revanchist role in the prohibition of the cultivation of this variety in Germany in the mid-1930s. The same parents also produced the new varieties Etoile I, Etoile II, Léon Millot, Lucie Kuhlmann, Maréchal Joffre and Pinard. The variety Maréchal Foch was also the crossing partner of the three new varieties Cabernet Foch, Millot-Foch and Sovereign Opal.
The early-maturing vine is resistant to frost down to minus 32 °Celsius and fungal diseases. It produces colourful, tannin-rich red wines with herbal aromas and a slightly smoky note. It used to be widespread in France on the Loire, but the population has shrunk drastically to only 11 hectares. There are other stocks in Switzerland (14 ha) and Germany (re-approved since 2008, but no stocks recorded yet). The variety, which is best suited to cold climates, was introduced in the 1940s by the viticultural pioneer Adhémar de Chaunac (*1896) in Canada, where it occupies 94 hectares. It is also cultivated in the USA in the states of Illinois, Iowa, New York, Oregon and Wisconsin on a total of 110 hectares. In 2016, a total of 229 hectares of vines were reported (Kym Anderson statistics).
Source: Wine Grapes / J. Robinson, J. Harding, J. Vouillamoz / Penguin Books Ltd. 2012
Grape and leaf: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI).
Ferdinand Foch: By Johnston, Charles Haven Ladd, Link
