| 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 is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise is also grown in California, Texas, 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.[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 area was planted with Counoise.[3] 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.[2]
- ^ Oz Clarke Encyclopedia of Grapes Harcourt Books 2001 ISBN 0-15-100714-4
- ^ a b Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Counoise". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 208. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
- ^ www.chateauneuf.dk: Grapes, accessed on June 18, 2008