Counoise is a dark-skinned

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

grown primarily in the

Rhône valley The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At ...

region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Counoise is also grown in California, New Jersey, and Washington. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have much depth of colour or

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...

.Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' Harcourt Books 2001 There were of Counoise in France in 2000. Counoise is one of the grapes allowed into the blend of

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; Provençal: Castèu-Nòu-De-Papo) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avi ...

wine. In 2004 only 0.5% of the appellation's area was planted with Counoise. Some producers who favour the variety use about 5% of it in their blends, and those account for most of the plantings. One such producer is Château de Beaucastel, which is noted for using all the 13 allowed varieties.

Counoise and Aubun

Counoise is easily confused with

Aubun Aubun is a red wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley. The grape has similar characteristics to Carignan grapes in that it tends to produce high yields and produces wines that are fat with slight bitter finishes. Early during the phyll ...

, because of a large similarity in the vineyards. Counoise and Aubun were also grown mixed in a

field blend Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

in some older vineyards. However, Counoise is considered to be a grape of higher quality, while Aubun has a reputation for giving simpler wines.

Synonyms

Synonyms for Counoise include Aubon, Caula, Conese, Connoges, Connoise, Couneso, Counoise noir, Counoiso, Counoueiso, Damas noir, Grosse Rogettaz, Guenoise, Moustardier, Cow Noise, Quennoise. Counoise is also listed as a synonym for Aubun, most likely due to confusion between the two in the vineyard.Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Aubun
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References

Red wine grape varieties