Teinturier

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Teinturier, a french term meaning to dye or stain, is applied to grapes whose juice is red in colour, due to anthocyanin pigments accumulating within the pulp of the grape berry itself. Normally, anthocyanin pigments are confined to the outer skin tissue only, and the squeezed grape juice is clear. The red colour of wine comes from anthocyanins extrated from the macerated (crushed)skins, over a period of days during the fermentation process.

Teinturier varieties, while containing a lot of colour, usually make poor wines, perhaps due to a higher level of tannins, compounds structurally related to the anthocyanins. Many winemakers blend small volumes of Teinturier juices into their wines, to boost the colour, without dramatically impacting the taste.

Examples of teinturier grape varieties are the Gamay à jus noir and Pinot (fin) teinturier.