Forcallat tinta

Forcallat tinta is a red Spanish wine grape variety that is native to the Castile-La Mancha region of central Spain, as well as in Alicante and Valencia provinces in the Valencian Community. The name of the cultivar means "forked" in Valencian, which probably refers to the bunches having a wing or shoulder, rather than a tendency to produce forked vines as suggested by Favà. It tends to produce pale-colored wines and is most often used as a minor blending component in Vino de la Tierra (VdlT) wines. It is an authorized variety in the Comunitat Valenciana, where it has become almost extinct and only a few wine makers like Rafael Cambra are making efforts to recover it, with interesting proposals like La forcallà d'Antònia. Extant plots are found in Fontanars dels Alforins, La Font de la Figuera, Villena and probably Moixent, though the cultivar was once a prevailing one in La Vall d'Albaida and Alto Vinalopó regions. Bodega la Encina in Villena (Alicante) with vineyards in neighbouring Almansa (Albacete) also works with the variety, offering wines from biodynamic and organic farming. DNA profiling conducted in the early 21st century determined that the white berried Forcallat blanca grape is a distinct variety and not a color mutation of Forcallat tinta. The white cultivar Trepadell is also called Forcallat blanc in the village of La Font de la Figuera, with only one remaining plot of about 600 plants. Trepadell is also present in the Marina Alta region and has been elaborated by Curii uvas & vinos.

Viticulture

Forcallat tinta is a late-ripening grape variety that is often one of the last varieties to be harvested in a growing season.