[1] It is grown in small amounts in many parts of Western Europe; the largest plantations are today found in Portugal, where most famously it is used in port wine.

[1] DNA profiling has likewise shown that Trousseau has been cultivated on the Iberian Peninsula for at least 200 years under several different names, including Bastardo, but it is unknown how it came to be introduced there.

[2] In 1938 Harold Olmo used Trousseau to pollinate the Vitis rupestris hybrid Alicante Ganzin to produce the Royalty variety.

It has also been included in Rioja DOCa under the name of Maturana Tinta, but it is listed as a separate variety to Trousseau / Merenzao even though they are genetically indistinct.

The name Trousseau (from Old French trusse, meaning "a bundle") is possibly a reference to the shape of the bunch, it looks 'packed up'.