Gamza

Names and synonyms:

Kadarka (Russia), Kadarka (Hungary, Slovakia, France), Cadarca (Romania), Scadarka (Serbia), Blaue kadarka (Austria), Mor kadarka (Turkey), Vodniška Vine, Mekiš, Cherna Gizha and Vratsa Black (Viden and Vratsa – Bulgaria).

Origin and distribution:

Gamza is an old local variety, grown in the past on large areas in Northern Bulgaria. Representative of the Black Sea Ecological and Geographical Group. Its exact origin has not been established. The word ‘gamza’ has Arabic roots and means capricious in translation. The variety is distributed in Romania, Serbia, Hungary and less in Austria, France and other wine-growing countries (Roychev, 2012). As of 2020, the area occupied by this variety is about 1186 ha, which represents 3.59 % of the red wine varieties and 1.97 % of all vine varieties distributed in Bulgaria. (MAF, Agrostatistics Department, 2020).

Botanical description (Roychev, 2012; IVV):

A young summer-racel. The crown is mossy, waxy-yellow with a faint pink hue. Young leaves are strongly mossy, to the top cottony, golden yellow with a copper hue, to the top whitish. The shoot is mossy, to the top highly mossy, green with wine-red stripes.

It's a mature summer tree. The internodes are medium long (5 cm), medium thick, flattened. The nodes are brown, slightly bulging with a violet hue. The bark is light-brown, at the nodes with a violet hue. Winter eyes are medium-sized, conical.

It's a sheet. Large (20,5/20,7 cm), five-sided, wider than long, folded chute-like upwards, on top is mesh wrinkled to small blistery, underneath strongly bristly-mossy with a rusty hue (characteristic). The upper side threads are open, shallow to medium-deep, lyrical, with parallel sides and a sharp bottom. The lower creases are open, shallow, often to barely noticeable, in the form of a sharp corner. The tail cut is most often closed with an elliptical opening, with slightly ascending partitions and a sharp bottom.

Grapes. Medium size (14.8/8.9 cm), cylindrical-conical, usually with a wing, concise. The average mass of the grapes is around 170-180 g (Fig. 6).

It's a nipple. Medium-sized (14.8/14.6 mm), almost spherical, in condensed bunches deformed. The skin is thin, brittle, dark blue, covered with abundant waxy plaster. The texture is fleshy and the taste harmonious and neutral. The average mass of a grain is around 2.3-2.7 g.

Agrobiological characteristic:

Gamza is a late-ripening variety. For the region of Pleven, the grapes ripen in late September and early October. The length of the growing season from budding to the technological ripeness of the grapes is about 170 days. The vines have medium to strong growth, high fertility and yield. The vines of the Gamza variety are very often overloaded with grapes, in which the sugars, dyeing matter and extract in it decrease significantly, and the quality of the wine severely deteriorates. It is recommended that Gamza be grown high-stemmed, in Moser shapes, with the application of short pruning. The variety is not prone to combing and millerandrite. It is susceptible to fungal diseases mana and oidium and is highly sensitive to gray rot, especially in years with rainy autumn. It is not resistant to low winter temperatures, but has a high restorative capacity. Due to the low cold resistance, it is recommended to grow ground in goblet-shaped and single Guyot formations. In areas without extremely low winter temperatures, it can be grown in stem formations with short fruiting units – in knots. Gamza variety develops and produces well grafted on all rootstocks distributed in our country.

Technological characteristic:

According to the mechanical composition of the grape variety Gamza is typically vinous. There is a high percentage of grains in the grapes and mesocarp in the grains, as a result of which its theoretical yield is high – over 85 %. Gamza variety is characterized by a moderate rate of sugaraccumulation. The sugar content at the technological ripeness of the grapes (early October) is around 20.0 – 22.0 %and titratable acidity from 6,4 to 8,4 g/dm³.

Well-ripened and healthy grapes of the Gamza variety produce wines with a bright red ruby color, a fine fruity aroma dominated by raspberry and a typical resinous, harmonious and soft taste with a pleasant freshness. The wines are suitable for consumption as young, and when aged (1-2 years) they quickly develop their qualities. In terms of content, anthocyanins and colour intensity, they are referred to as ‘lighter’ red wines.

Variations and Branches:

In the Gamza variety, there are a number of inferior variations that do not multiply. The N5 branch of the ILV-Pleven Gamza, which was approved by the IASAS in 2023, is characterised by very good business qualities.