🍇 Flame Tokay

Flame Tokay is a red table grape variety, known in California by exactly this name. In the VIVC catalogue its prime name is Ahmeur bou Ahmeur and its country of origin is Algeria, and it has no fewer than 78 synonyms, among them Tokay, Rhenish Red, Reine de Nice, Teta de Vaca and Imperial Roja.

Geneticists have clarified how these names are related. In 2007, researchers from the University of Turin showed that Flame Tokay is a mutant of the Algerian Ahmer Bou Amer at a single microsatellite locus (VVS5). The same study disproved the pedigree of Cardinal: it was thought to be a cross of Flame Tokay and Ribier made in Fresno in 1939, but the DNA shows this could not be so.

The variety was once widespread in California but is now rare. According to the US National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 546 acres were planted to it in 2007, and by 2022 only 145 acres remained, about 59 ha. All these vines were planted in 2014 or earlier: there are no new plantings.

According to VIVC, the variety is listed in the European Catalogue of varieties, and samples are held in 42 collections. The Japanese table grape Kaiji descends from it.

Why it matters to you. The word «Tokay» in the name does not mean Tokaji wine: this is a table grape from Algeria, while the name «Tokaj» is protected in the EU as a designation of origin for wines from Hungary. What is more, «Flame Tokay» is just one of 78 names, so the same grape may be sold under an entirely different name in Spain or France.