What is Achéria?
A. A southern Italian grape variety said to have been a favorite of Julius Caesar, and recently rescued from near extinction
B. The modern practice of growing grapevines up trees, named after a Greek viticulturist who revived the ancient technique
C. A type of crushed rocky soil prevalent in Georgia, Armenia, and other places in eastern Europe that were early domestication sites for wine
D. The original name for Cabernet Franc
D.
Achéria is the oldest name for, and most primitive clone of, Cabernet Franc. Although widely assumed to have originated in Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc (Achéria) is native to the Basque Country of northern Spain. From there it spread over the Pyrenees to the Gironde (the area around Bordeaux), where it encountered Sauvignon Blanc (which, for its part, had moved south from the Loire Valley). In the Gironde, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc had a nice moment in Nature and gave birth to Cabernet Sauvignon.