Oeil de perdrix

Oeil de Perdrix is a rosé wine produced in Switzerland. The history of the wine style dates back to the Middle Ages in the Champagne region of France and from there spread to the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland where it would become a popular dry rosé made from Pinot noir.

Its name means "eye of partridge" in French, a reference to the pale pink colour of the eye of a partridge in death throes. Until about a century ago, it was common for vineyards to have the red and white grapes unseparated unlike today where each vineyard has a unique grape.

This gave white wine, red wine and what was called grey wine because the wine was neither white nor red. It is also an old name for very pale rosé wine made by the saignée method, in which the juice of red grapes is drawn off and fermented with little contact with the skins.

With the modernization of viticulture and separation of grapes the term Oeil de Perdrix disappeared in France but remained in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The Canton of Neuchâtel would export the Oeil de Perdix primarily to the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland but also to other cantons, namely to the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais.

After the Second World War, the latter decided to start producing their own Oeil de Perdrix. When the policy for wine of controlled origin (AOC) in Switzerland began, the Canton of Neuchâtel claimed the sole Oeil de Perdrix AOC but it was refused and the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Valais and Neuchâtel, all have the Oeil de Perdrix AOC today.

The early origins of the American wine White Zinfandel can be traced to a California winemakers attempt at making an Oeil de Perdrix style wine.




Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oeil_de_Perdrix



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