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 ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry (botany), berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non-Climacteric (botany), climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of ...

grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. 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 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 Château de Beaucastel is a winery located in the southern part of the Rhône valley in France, which is primarily noted for its Châteauneuf du Pape wines produced in a long-lived style.

, which is noted for using all the 13 allowed varieties.

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. 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