Taste peculiarity of certain American vines and the wine pressed from them, which is mostly to be understood negatively according to European taste (in Japan, however, it is perceived as pleasant). Other names for foxy are fox taste, cat taste, skunk taste and bug taste. The term hybrid tone, which is also very often used, is actually misleading, as by far not all hybrids have this tone. The name foxy was chosen because of the similarity of the scent around a fox's den or the smell of fox urine (cat urine), wet fox fur and animal faeces. This is particularly pronounced in the species Vitis labrusca (also known as fox vine or strawberry vine) and somewhat less so in the species Vitis rotundifolia or its derivatives and crossbreeds. However, there are other American grapevine species that exhibit the aroma, albeit to a lesser extent.
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Andreas Essl
Autor, Modena