Cinsaut or Cinsault ( ) is a red

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

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 a ...

whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and b ...

and the former French colonies of

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Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. It is often blended with grapes such as

Grenache Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world.Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditio ...

and

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterr ...

to add softness and bouquet.

Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...

, ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' Mitchell Beazley 1986 It has many synonyms, of which perhaps the most confusing is its sale as a table grape called 'Oeillade', although it is different from the "true" Oeillade which is no longer cultivated. In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, it was known as "Hermitage", hence the name of its most famous cross Pinotage.

History

Cinsaut appears to be an ancient variety that may have originated in the

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

Distribution and wines

Algeria

Cinsaut is popular in

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for its drought resistance, and is used to make large volumes of wine.

Australia

Cinsaut is grown under a variety of names such as Black Prince, Blue Imperial, Oeillade and Ulliade.

France

Cinsaut is the fourth most widely planted grape variety in France, and is especially important in

. It is also widely used for rosé wines in Provence.

Italy

Known as Ottavianello, there is one tiny DOC devoted to Cinsaut - Ostuni Ottavianello, with a total production of less than 1000 cases a year. However, Cinsaut has long been used in

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n blends and has also begun to attract the attention of winemakers interested in reviving old varieties.

Lebanon

Cinsaut is an important component in the blend of Lebanon's

Chateau Musar Chateau Musar is the name of a Lebanese winery in Ghazir, Lebanon, north of the capital Beirut. Musar grapes grow in the Beqaa Valley, a fertile sunny valley at an elevation of , situated east of Beirut. History The winery was established by Ga ...

Morocco and Tunisia

As in Algeria, Cinsaut is popular in Morocco and Tunisia for its drought resistance.

South Africa

A lot of Cinsaut is grown in South Africa, much of which is blended with

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon ...

. It holds a special place in the country's viticulture alongside

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ''black.'' The word ''pine ...

as one of the parents of Pinotage. Of all the grape varieties planted in the Cape, Cinsault has claimed a significant "Cinderella" turnaround in recent history. Historically, it was favored for its heat tolerance and productivity to be used in bulk blends but winemakers of late have been experimenting with the grape. Many new labels can be found on the market offering crunchy red berry flavors at low alcohols, it is still a very useful blending component with other Rhone varietals, while also adding some fruity brightness to Cabernet Sauvignon.

United States

The oldest continuous Cinsaut vineyard is said to be the Bechtold vineyard in Lodi, California, which was planted in 1885 by Joseph Spenker. Some Cinsaut is planted in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as Black Malvoisie. Cinsaut is planted in the

North Coast AVA The North Coast AVA is an American Viticultural Area in the state of California that encompasses grape-growing regions in six counties located north of San Francisco: Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, and Solano. This large appellati ...

in California, most specifically in the

Red Hills Lake County AVA The Red Hills Lake County AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Lake County, California. The wine region lies along the southwestern shores of Clear Lake, separating Excelsior Valley to the east from Big Valley to the west. The h ...

. Cinsaut is planted in the Yakima Valley AVA in Washington. Cinsaut is planted in Texas, specifically in the Texas High Plains A.V.A.

Vine and Viticulture

The vine can produce heavy crops, but wines are much better if yields are controlled. Cinsaut is very drought resistant but can be susceptible to disease, so appreciates a dry climate. It produces large cylindrical bunches of black grapes with fairly thick skins.

Synonyms and confusion with other grapes

Black Malvoisie, Blue Imperial, Bourdales Kek, Budales, Calibre, Chainette, Cincout, Cinq-sao, Cinquien, Cinsanet, Cinsault, Cubilier, Cubillier, Cuviller, Espagne, Espagnol, Froutignan, Grappu De La Dordogne, Hermitage, Malaga Kek, Marocain, Maurange, Mavro Kara Melkii, Milhau, Morterille noire, Moustardier Noir, Navarro, Negru De Sarichioi, Oeillade noire, Ottavianello, Ottaviano, Ottavianello, Pampous, Papadou, Passerille, Pedaire, Picardan noir, Piquepoul D'Uzes, Pis De Chevre, Plant D Arles Boudales, Plant D'Arles, Plant De Broqui, Plant De Broquies, Poupe De Crabe, Pousse De Chevre Rouge, Prunaley, Prunelas, Prunella, Prunellas noir, Salerne, Samsó, Samson, Senso, Sensu, Sinsó, Strum, Takopulo Kara, Ulliaou, West's White Prolific, Black Prince, Boudales, Oeillade, Picardin noir and Ulliade. While Cinsault is known under the synonym ''Oeillade noire'', especially when it is sold as a table grape, it is not related to the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

and Provence wine grape Oeillade noire.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pg 743, Allen Lane 2012

References

{{Wines Red wine grape varieties Wine grapes of Italy Wine grapes of Apulia