In official statistics, the plantings of two "light-berried" Terret grapes (Blanc and Gris) are often counted together. The varieties reached their peak in French wine productions in the late 1980s when together the Terret varieties were the ninth most widely planted white grape variety. In the Languedoc, plantings of Terret were equal to that of Chardonnay.[1]
Terret blanc is a permitted grape variety in several Languedoc AOCs including:[2]
Coteaux du Languedoc, permitted as a blending components in the white wine along with Bourboulenc, Clairette blanche, Grenache blanc, Trebbiano, Maccabeo, Picpoul blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Rolle and Viognier. Grapes destined for AOC production must be harvested a yield no greater than 50 hl/ha with the finished wines needing to attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11%. The minimum rises to 11.5% if the wine has a cru designation--meaning that it was grown in the specially recognized vineyards around Corbières, Mejanelle, St-Christol, Vérargues, Montpeyrous, Pic St-Loup, Quatourze, Saint-Drézéry, St-Georges d'Orques, St-Saturnin and the extinct volcano Montagne de la Clape.
As of 2000, the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) reported that there was 3000 hectares of the light skinned Terrets, of which approximately 2,600 ha (6,400 acres) were believed to be the Terret blanc variety in particular.[3]
Known synonyms of Terret blanc include Bourret blanc, Tarret blanc and Terret monstre.[4]