A child of Chenin Blanc and the near-vanished Gouais Blanc, Colombard grew up in the Charentes and Gascony as a distiller's grape — high in acid, neutral, ideal for Cognac and Armagnac. In the late twentieth century it found a second calling: crisp, aromatic, grapefruit-scented dry whites from the Côtes de Gascogne, cheap and cheerful and quietly excellent.
The same acidity that suits the still makes a refreshing, unoaked table wine in a warm climate, which is why California and South Africa planted it by the acre for everyday blends. Humble by reputation, Colombard is one of those workaday grapes the wine world could not do without.