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Kosher Wines -->
Wine Glossary -->
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--> Alicante Bouschet |
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Alicante Bouschet is a wine grape variety that has been widely
cultivated since 1866. It is a cross of Grenache with Petit
Bouschet (itself a cross of the very old variety Teinturier du
Cher and Aramon). Alicante is a teinturier, a grape with red
flesh. It is one of the few teinturier grapes that belong to the
Vitis vinifera family. Its deep color makes it useful for blending
with light red wine. It was planted heavily during Prohibition in
California for export to the East Coast. Its thick skin made it
resistant to rot during the transportation process.
The intense red color was also helpful for stretching the wine
during prohibition, as it could be diluted without detracting from
the appearance. At the
turn of the 21st century, Alicante Bouschet was the 12th most
planted red wine grape in France with sizable plantings in the
Languedoc, Provence and Cognac regions. |
2010 Rogov's Guide to Kosher Wines
The World's 500 Best Kosher Wines |
History and breeding
The grape was first cultivated in France in 1866 by Henri Bouschet
as a cross of Petit Bouschet and Grenache. The Petit Bouschet
grape was created by his father Louis Bouschet. The result was to
produce a grape with deep color grape of higher quality then the
Teinturier du Cher. Several varieties of Alicante Bouschet were
produced of varying quality. The grapes high yields and easy
maintenance encouraged its popularity among French wine growers,
especially in the years following the Phylloxera epidemic. By the
end of the 19th century there were Alicante Bouschet plantings in
Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Loire Valley.
The grape was widely popular in the United States during the years
of Prohibition. Grape growers in California's Central Valley found
that the grape's pulp was so fleshy and juicy that fermentable
juice could be retrieved even after the third pressing. In
contrasts, wines made grapes like Chardonnay and Merlot typically
only include the juice from the free run (before pressing) and
first or second pressing. The grape's thick skin also meant that
it could survive the long railway transportation from California
to New York's Pennsylvania Station which had auction rooms where
the grapes were sold. In 1928, one single auction lot 225 carloads
of grape was purchase by a single buyer. The amount of grapes was
enough to make over 2 million gallons of wine.
Wine regions
In France, the grape was historically a blending partner with
Aramon but in recent times has been made more into its own
varietal but has steadily been declining in plantings. In some
areas of France the grape is now extinct. The grape is still being
actively grown in Portugal's Alentejo region where it prized for
its good color, fruitiness and tannin levels. In Chile the grape
is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and to make concentrated
varietal wines. In California the grape was popular among home
winemakers during Prohibition and still grown today in Napa and
Sonoma counties. Other areas with notable Alicante Bouschet
plantings include Algeria, Israel and parts of central and
southern Italy.[3]. It's an important grape variety in
southeastern Spain, under the local name garnacha tintorera, as it
occupies some 3,000 hectares, mostly in the Almansa, Manchuela and
Jumilla appellations.
Viticulture and wine
The grape is known for its deep dark color, more than 15 times the
color of Aramon and twice the darkness of the Grand Noir de la
Calmette. The grape produces high yields, an average of 80 hl/ha.
It buds and ripens early to produce wines often with alcohol
levels around 12%. The wines produced by the grape alone typically
aren't of the highest quality and tend to be flabby, lacking
character and complexity. The grape vine is prone to grape
diseases like anthracnose and downy mildew.[4] The grape leaves of
the vine are unique in that they have patches of purple coloring.
Crosses
Alibernet - crossing of Alicante Bouschet x Cabernet Sauvignon was
bred in 1950 in the Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute for
Wine and Vines in Odessa. It is planted in Slovakia, Hungary and
Czech Republic |
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