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Grenache noir is the world’s most widely planted grape used to make red wine, sometimes made into a stand-alone varietal, frequently as a rosé, but most often as a backbone of red blends.

Used as a component in some Northern Rhône reds, nearly exclusively for Rhône rosés and as the primary component in nearly all Southern Rhône red blends, Grenache is probably most notable as the base varietal for Chateauneuf du Pape, Cotes du Rhône and Gigondas. In spite of its fame coming from French wines, Spain is most likely this grape’s origin

Grenache is known by local names (alicante, carignane rousse) in the Mediterranean regions of France. Particularly important in the areas of the Languedoc and Rousillon, there are also variants with different colored berries: white grenache blanc, and pink grenache rose or grenache gris. Nearly three times as much grenache is planted in Spain as in France. The spanish know this grape and wine as garnacha or garnacha tinta, where it is the dominant red wine variety in Catalonia and prominent in Rioja. The grape is known in Italy as cannonau.

In the New World, Australia has extensive plantings of Grenache and has been very successful making full-bodied Grenache-dominated red blends. Until surpassed by plantings of merlot in the past decade, Grenache was the third most planted red variety in California after Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Most of this acreage is in the Central Valley and used to produce bulk rather than premium wine.

An abundant producer of fruit, grenache habitually will "alternate" a crop of 8 to 10 tons per acre one year and 14 to 16 tons the next. The vine is very sturdy and woody, lends itself well to head or spur pruning, and survives arid and drought conditions better than less vigorous vines. Cool and damp conditions can cause "deadarm" disease in grenache, however, and its compact and well-filled clusters are quite prone to rot. The grenache grape is relatively low in both pigment and malic acid, and oxidizes readily. Although some 100% varietal wines are produced from grenache, particularly in Spain’s Rioja and from some "other countries grenache is noted as a filler

On its own, grenache makes fleshy, heady, very fruity wines in their youth. They tend to age quickly, showing tawny colors and prone to oxidation or maderization after only a relatively short time in bottle. The general character and mouthfeel of Grenache wines are more distinctive and identifyable than any particular aromas or flavors.

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Carignan is more affordable than the other varietals perhaps because of the following qualities:

Its ripening process takes quite longer than the others.

Because it takes long to ripen, its susceptibility to spring frost is decreased therefore, it can produce huge quantities.

However, it tends to be sensitive to powdery and downy mildew.

Having said all these things, Carignan grapes must be carefully chosen and picked. As a winemaker, especially novice ones who are dabbling into wine homemade, make sure that the grapes you pick are free from rot and mildew to make sure that the wine you produce later on is not contaminated.

Carignan is also popular in France but not as popular as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The reason for this is that compared to those two, Carignan is quite more acidic and tannic in nature. This makes it a bit harder to produce great tasting wine. One needs to keep balancing the flavor by either adding more sugar and less tannin to the mixture. On the other hand, these characteristics are also the very reason why Carignan grapes are affordable than the other varietals and are also the best choice for everyday consumption and for making wine homemade.

Would you like to find out how to make Carignan wine homemade style? It’s just very simple actually. There are basic wine directions you can follow which are pretty similar  with the instructions on how to make Merlot wine homemade style. What I’ll add here are more important things you should remember when making Carignan wine homemade.

As I’ve mentioned, it takes a longer period for Carignan grapes to become ripe. So when you start choosing the grapes, be very careful and thorough. Once you pick the ripest of the bunch, you’re sure to produce a richer and more flavorful kind of wine. Although, it will also depend on whether the grapes used are crushed or uncrushed. The kind that responds best to fermentation are the uncrushed ones. For smokey aroma, take out the twigs and stems. If you were not able to take them out, then you’ll produce sweet wine.

If you want to produce earthy and fruity wines, you just have to make the process of fermentation cool and short. Otherwise, you can heat the fermenter under the heat of the sun to get the opposite result. Just be careful because you wouldn’t want your wine homemade to be spoiled. Regarding the overall time period consumed in making your wine homemade, the size of your container or vat or fermenter is a huge factor.  In case you have smaller vessels, you can still produce quality wine if you keep the time period short.

New wood is not needed when storing your homemade Carignan particularly if it’s just less than 100 gallons in quantity. You may use a glass of stainless steel instead. If you like your wine to have some oak character added in it, you can just drop some oak chips at the bottom of your container.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. His latest book, “Homemade Wine: Great Secrets on How to Turn Your Winemaking Hobby Into a Profitable Business” is available at http://www.homemadewinesecrets.com.com

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Carignan is the type of varietal that takes a while to become ripe. Long season is a must for this type. This means, that it is not susceptible to spring frost and it can produce high yields. On the other hand, it can be sensitive to powdery and downy mildew. Therefore, if you want to know how to make grape wine, particularly of this kind,  you must choose your Carignan grapes very carefully to make sure that you don’t pick those that have already been attacked by mildew.

Though Carignan is popular in France and is also quite tough, it does not enjoy the popularity that its counterparts hold, like that of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Well, because honestly speaking, it is the kind of varietal that produces very high acidity and tannic levels as well as color and it does not display as much character, flavor or personality as its counterparts. On the bright side, because of these qualities, it is very much more affordable than the Cabernet or the Merlot. This is why it has become the best choice for everyday consumption. So for those who are learning how to make grape wine on a budget, better use Carignan grapes.

Are you now excited to find out how to make grape wine like Carignan? Well, you just have to follow the very basic directions used on how to make grape wine. It is more or less the same with the procedures we have for making Merlot wine. But there are additional instructions here that you must take note of as you begin to make your first homemade Carignan wine.

I’ve already told you that Carignan grapes take a while to ripen. Therefore, when learning how to make grape wine, choosing those you will use for winemaking is a very critical part of the whole Carignan winemaking process. The riper the grapes are, the more flavorful, richer and more complex your wine will be. Therefore, do take all the time you need in sorting out the grapes prior to starting wine making at home.

There is evidence brought about by the long lived tradition of wine making that when you use uncrushed Carignan grapes, they respond better to fermentation.  If you were able to take out the little twigs and stems, the wine you’ll produce will have a smoky, meaty, earthy aroma otherwise, it will be sweet and berry-like.

There are also other ways to produce different tasting Carignan wines. You can have  earthy, fruity and soft wine if the process of the fermentation has been cool and short. If you want the opposite aroma or flavor, what you can do is put the fermenter under the heat of the sun or better yet, use heating pads to increase the temperature  or punch down the cap as many times as it is practical like twice in a day. You can also do long macerations. However, it is crucial to protect your wine from spoilage since carbon dioxide production will begin to fall off.  With regards to the length of time consumed for the whole vinification process, it will also depend on the size of the vessel of the wine you are fermenting. Like for instance, you can still create a tasty wine using small quantity of fruits if the time you will use will also be shortened — disregard introducing the oak flavor, be mindful of oxidation and bottle as early as possible.

Are you now ready to know more about how to make grape wine? Please note that you also don’t need new wood as you age your homemade Carignan wine especially if it’s just less than 10 gallons that you are making. Just use a glass of stainless steel instead. To add some oak character in your wine, just add a few pieces of oak chips by dropping them at the bottom of the mixture. So what are you waiting for? C’mon and practice what you now know about how to make grape wine.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. His latest book, “Homemade Wine Profit Secrets – Big Profits from Your Wine Hobby” and four other amazing wine books (Great Wines Made Simple, Liqueurs and Party Specials, Healthy Fruit and Herbal Wines, Ladies’ Wines) are available at http://www.homemadewinesecrets.com.

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