NYTimes: Black Wine...

Interesting article in the NYTimes:
[Black Wines](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/t-ma ... rapes.html)

on black wines made from teinturier grapes (grapes whose pulp has pigmentation). Of course, Alicante Bouschet leads the list. With Saperavi coming on strong.
To my understanding, the anthocyanins that come from the pulp are not very stable and the wines often lose their black color fairly rapidly. I have no direct experience w/ that. Maybe I'll try to pull an old Carlisle Alicante or Ridge Alicante tonight. Both come from PaganiRanch.
Tom

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy description "mostly harmless" applies to the alicante bouschets that I've tried. Aramon used to be a variety widely planted in the south of France after phylloxera wiped out all the good grapes. Its only redeeming value (at least from the producers' perspective) is that aramon has very high yields. But its wines are pale and characterless. Alicante bouschet was blended in to make the wine look red. A-B adds color but no character. It's still insipid plonk.

The full name of the grape we call gamay is "gamay noir a jus blanc" to distinguish it from the teinturier gamay sub-varieties that have red pulp. I've never tasted a wine made with teinturier gamay.

-Paul W.

I couldn't read the NYT article as I didn't want to register to read just one article, but I enjoy Alicante Bouschet and CT tells me I still have 4 bottles of it and records that I've drunk 14.

These are varietals but I also enjoy its contributions to Zinfandel blends from Ridge.

Dark though they may be, I don't see Alicante as a black wine.