Skip to content
California Wine Atlas

Melon

White wine grape · reported 2000–2025

Further reading: VIVC catalog entry

Melon, a Burgundian white bred from Gouais Blanc and Pinot, is the grape of Muscadet, where it makes lean, high-acid wines meant to be drunk young. California's crush records track it continuously from 2000 through 2025 across five districts, but volumes stay modest — a peak year saw about 36 tons crushed statewide, with 2025 itself totaling roughly 40 tons, and no bearing acreage has ever been separately reported. Prices have topped out around $3,000 a ton. It remains a minor, specialty planting here, valued for the same neutral, crisp character that makes it a natural partner for oysters and other shellfish in its home region.

What kind of grape this is

Species
VITIS VINIFERA LINNÉ SUBSP. SATIVA (DE CANDOLLE) HEGI
Berry color
BLANC
Country of origin
FRANCE
Parentage
HEUNISCH WEISS×PINOT

confirmed by DNA markers

Synonyms
42

names this grape is known by elsewhere, per VIVC

Approved on a US label
Melon de Bourgogne (Melon)

the names TTB permits on a bottle

FPS selections
6

distinct clones and selections held at UC Davis

What is published

Counts describe what this atlas holds for Melon, not what California grows. A zero is a published answer: it means the source names the grape and reports nothing under it, or does not name it at all.

0

county-years of acreage

the Grape Acreage Report has never named it in a county table

66

district-years of crush

5 of 17 crush districts, 26 crop years

66

district-years of Brix

tonnage-weighted at the crusher, Crush Report Table 3

0

producers in this atlas

producers whose curated wine list names it — a curated roster of 2,772 producers, not a census of California

regions with a maturity date

not one of the eight cultivars with a

Tonnage and price by district

Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA

All 5 districts on one axis →

loading crush report…

Brix at the crusher

Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA

loading must chemistry…