Cinsaut
Variety of grape
Cinsaut or Cinsault ( SAN-soh, French: [sɛ̃so] ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and Carignan to add softness and bouquet.
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, 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, but could equally have been brought by traders from the eastern Mediterranean.
Distribution and wines
Algeria
Cinsaut is popular in Algeria 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.
Chile
Old Cinsault vines in the Itata Valley have recently been rediscovered by quality wine producers in Chile, such as Miguel Torres, Clos de Fous, Ventisquero and Undurraga. In one of the southernmost wine-producing areas of the country, the grape yields light-bodied, fruit-driven wines, most often varietal, but sometimes blended with Pais or Carignan.
France
Cinsaut is the fourth most widely planted grape variety in France, and is especially important in Languedoc-Roussillon.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cinsaut” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.