🍇 Narince

Narince is a white grape variety from Turkey that VIVC classes as both a wine grape and a table grape. Its parentage has been established with DNA markers: it is a cross of Kalecik Siyah with Dimrit, and VIVC equates Dimrit with the variety Bekari. The catalogue lists the synonyms Kazova, Narance, Narindje, Nerince and Güzel Üzüm, and the variety is entered in the European catalogue of grape varieties.

Narince's best-known use in Turkey is its leaves. Vine leaves there are eaten fresh, dried and brined, and according to a review by scientists at Gaziosmanpaşa University in Tokat, the leaves most produced and eaten for sarma are those of Sultani Çekirdeksiz and Narince. In their 2012 trial, the yield of young Narince leaves ranged from 312.4 kg per decare without fertiliser to 437.1 kg with ammonium nitrate (10 kg of nitrogen per decare); nitrogen raised the yield by about 30 %.

Narince leaves also have a geographical indication: on 5 December 2017 Turkey registered the designation of origin Erbaa Narince Bağ Yaprağı. The document calls Narince one of the country's finest white wine grapes and the Erbaa district in Tokat province the region's main producer of brined leaves. Erbaa lies at about 245 m, the lowest point in the province, so leaves are picked there in 5–6 rounds, from mid-May to mid-July.

Why it matters to you. Brined vine leaves labelled Erbaa Narince Bağ Yaprağı are Narince leaves picked within the Erbaa district. And a bottle of Turkish white wine labelled Narince is wine from the very same variety.