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Marechal Foch is a popular hybrid grape variety widespread throughout the Midwestern United States and in Canada. It is cold hardy and disease resistant and happily manages to avoid the "foxy" character that is prevalent in many American hybrids. Instead, Marechal Foch makes a deeply colored wine with earthy characters as well as some jammy, dark-fruit flavors.

The grape was bred in France in the 1910s by Eugene Kuhlmann, who crossed Goldriesling and a native American Vitis riparia-rupestris to create what was then named Kuhlmann 188-2. The variety arrived in the U.S. in 1946, where it was subsequently renamed Marechal Foch in honor of Marshall Ferdinand Foch, a prominent French General in World War I. Rumor has it that this is to do with the heavy casualties sustained by Foch's troops: Marechal Foch wines are particularly noted for their deep, blood-like color.

Early success was partly due to Marechal Foch's resistance to marginal conditions; in the early days of the mid-20th Century, viticulturalists would bury their vines in snow to protect them from the freezing continental winters. The variety provides reliable yields and ripens very early in the vineyard, making it a safe and attractive option in regions where most Vitis vinifera grapes struggle to ripen. This includes Nova Scotia and Quebec, as well as New York, Minnesota and a number of other states in the Midwest.

Marechal Foch is classified as a teinturier, a kind of red grape variety where both the skin and flesh of the grape is a deep red color. This makes for deeply colored wines, and Marechal Foch is often employed in blends to enhance color. This intensity translates to the body of the wine: Marechal Foch makes a weighty wine that is often aged in oak.

Lighter styles can also be made through the use of carbonic maceration, a winemaking technique that is often employed in making Beaujolais wines. These tend to be softer and less rustic than those wines produced by traditional winemaking practices. Whole-bunch pressing of Marechal Foch results in a more earthy style of wine, with dark berries and a slight smokiness on the palate. Enthusiasts often compare aged Marechal Foch with red Burgundy, but the variety is probably more akin to a spicy Beaujolais.

As Marechal Foch is a hybrid grape variety it is no longer found in commercial quantities in its homeland of France: it was once planted widely throughout the Loire.

Synonyms include: Foch, Kuhlmann 188-2.

Food matches for Marechal Foch include:

• Tuna niçoise
• Jambalaya
• Roasted beetroot and broccoli salad