Blood peaches, the protector of the vines
The Vineyard peach, vinous peach, blood peach or peche de vigne, this special peach has many names. But do you know how this peach got his red colored flesh en how he got his name? And do you know how the nectavigne, the red colored flesh nectarine, was bred.
The origin in the Vineyard
The story of the blood peach started over 250 years ago in the Coteaux du Lyonnais in France. At that time, the wine growers would plant a peach tree in the middle of their vineyards. The peach trees were highly sensitive to fungus and were therefor the protectors of their vines against the parasitic fungus.
As soon as the first signs appeared on these trees, the alarm was raised and the vines were saved. These specific peach trees produced a small, red and downy fruit. These peaches started to defend themselves and created more antioxidants. This resulted in the beautiful red colored flesh. That’s why these peaches got the names ‘vineyard peach’, ‘peche de vigne’ or even ‘blood peach’.
By selecting the most beautiful fruits, a complete new peach species was born. The Vineyard peach as we know it today has characteristic red colored flesh, is very juicy, very sweet and above all super aromatic. The Vineyard peaches are available from July to September.
The best of both worlds
Thanks to René Monteux-Caillet and a couple of local producers the nectavigne has been preserved. They were able to see the extraordinary potential of this fruit and adapted it to the needs of today’s market but without losing their special qualities. “By combining the benefits of a modern product, the nectarine, with the typical, rusctic and traditional Vineyard peach, we’ve created an unique piece of fruit: the nectavigne, a red flesh colored nectarine.
A brand new type of fruit saw the light of the day: a direct descendant of the Vineyard peach. The nectavigne offers the same characteristics as its forebear, except for its downy skin. It has retained the wine red color on the skin, the traditional red flesh and his subtle aroma and scent, sweet yet fresh.
Unmistakable by its speckled skin, an indicator of its high sugar content. The nectavigne is highly colored, bursting with aromas and flavours and is both rustic as noble.