Wines News & People
Carignan
Wine Style:
None.
Flavors:
Origin:
Rhone in France
Found:
France, Spain, Italy and California
It’s also known as Carinena and Mazuelo in Spain, Gragnano in Italy, Carignane in California.
The berries are bluish-black, round and fairly large, with fairly thick, astringent skins. They hang in large, rather compact clusters that are short-stemmed, difficult to harvest, and susceptible to grape worms. They also rot easily.
It’s also a semi-classic grape commonly used for making red wines in Southern France and Spain. It is also successfully grown in California’s Central Valley, often ending up in generic blends and “jug” wines, although some old plantings allow small lots of premium extract wine to be made. Blended with other varieties such as Cinsaut, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, it has been used to create red wines in California similar to the famed Chateauneuf-du-Pape blend of the southern Rhone region of France.
Further Reading:
Wikipedia
Jancis Robinson
Wine Pros