Counoise
Crisp, rare and elegant
This sparsely-stocked red grape spawns astonishingly crisp wines. It is cultivated in small quantities in the southern Rhône Valley and the Languedoc. However, it originated in Spain. Legend has it that Pope Urban V (1310-1370), the penultimate Avignon Pope, received a vine as a gift from a Spaniard named Counesa.
This variety matures late, with weak productivity; its high quality makes up for it, though. In total, nearly 1,000 hectares are planted with Counoise in France. Wines pressed from the Counoise grape are mostly light in color, elegant, multi-layered, and fruity.
