Crouchen [kroo-SHEN]
In South Africa, where this white-wine grape is known variously as South African Riesling, Cape Riesling, and Paarl Riesling, Crouchen has long been thought to be Riesling. The Australians believed it was Sémillon but, strangely, called it Clare Riesling. It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that this grape was identified as Crouchen, a variety from the Landes region of Southwest France (where it’s now almost extinct). Crouchen continues to be grown in both South Africa and Australia, where it produces pleasant, lightly aromatic wines that are sometimes vinified dry and other times with a bit of residual sugar. Other names for Crouchen include Cruchen blanc and Navarre blanc.
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.