The red grape variety originates from France or Spain. There are around 80 synonyms that testify to the vine's great age and spread. The most important, grouped alphabetically by country, are Achéria, Ardounet, Arrouya, Beron, Bidure, Boubet, Bouchet Franc, Bouchet Saint-Émilion, Bouchy, Breton, Cabernet Aunis, Cabernet Francese, Cabernet Franc Noir, Cabernet Gris, Cabrunet, Capbreton Rouge, Carbonet, Carbouet, Carmenet, Couahort, Cros Cabernet, Crouchen Negre, Crouchen Noir, Fer Servadou, Gros Bouchet, Gros Cabernet, Grosse Vidure, Messanges Rouge, Morenoa Veron Bouchy, Noir Dur, Plant Breton, Plant de l'Abbé Breton, Sable Rouge, Trouchet, Trouchet Noir, Véron, Véronais, Vidure, Vuidure (France); Tsapournako (Greece); Cabernet Franc Crni (Croatia); Cabernet Bresciano, Cabernet Frank (Italy); Bordo (Romania); Bordeaux (Switzerland); Verdejilla Tinto (Spain).

Origin

According to one hypothesis, it is a descendant of the ancient variety Biturica mentioned by Pliny the Elder (23-79) and Columella, as indicated by the synonym Bidure. It is said that Cabernet Franc was introduced to Spain under the name Achéria by pilgrims from Irouléguy (French Basque Country) on their way to Santiago de Compostela (Galicia). However, the reverse route from Spain to France is also conceivable.

The first mention of the variety as Breton could date back to 1534 by the famous poet François Rabelais (1495-1553) in his work "Gargantua and Pantagruel". According to another version, Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) sent over 1,000 vines from Bordeaux to his estate manager Abbé Breton in 1631, who planted them in the Loire regions of Bourgueil and...