Counoise

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Counoise
Grape (Vitis)
Counoise in Viala & Vermorel
Color of berry skin Noir
Species Vitis vinifera
Origin France
Notable regions Rhône valley
Notable wines Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Counoise grapes

Counoise is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have much depth of colour or tannin.[1] There were 638 hectares (1,580 acres) of Counoise in France in 2000.[2]

Counoise is one of the grapes allowed into the blend of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine. In 2004 only 0.5% of the appellation's surface was planted with Counoise.[3] Some producer which favour the variety use about 5% of it in their blends, and account for most of the plantations. One such producer is Château de Beaucastel, which is noted for using all the 13 allowed varieties.[2]

Limited plantings also exist in California and much goes into blending. A few producers such as Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles and Wente Vineyards in Livermore bottle varietal Counoise.

Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes, New Jersey is the only producer of Counoise as a varietal wine on the East Coast of the United States.

Counoise and Aubun

Counoise is easily confused with Aubun, because of a large similarity in the vineyards. Counoise and Aubun were also grown mixed in a field blend in some older vineyards.[2] However, Counoise is considered to be a grape of higher quality, while Aubun has a reputation for giving simpler wines.[1]

Synonyms

Synonyms for Counoise include Aubon, Caula, Conese, Connoges, Connoise, Couneso, Counoise noir, Counoiso, Counoueiso, Damas noir, Grosse Rogettaz, Guenoise, Moustardier, Quennoise.[4]

Counoise is also listed as a syononym for Aubun, most likely due to confusion between the two in the vineyard.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oz Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes Harcourt Books 2001 ISBN 0-15-100714-4
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Counoise". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third Edition ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 208. ISBN 0-19-860990-6. 
  3. ↑ www.chateauneuf.dk: Grapes, accessed on June 18, 2008
  4. ↑ Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Counoise, accessed on June 18, 2008
  5. ↑ Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Aubun, accessed on June 18, 2008
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