2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Karinyan (Carignan) is a red wine grape variety that originates in Spain. Karinyan is named after the area where Karinena is raised in the province of Aragon. The variety is widespread in the regions of Sardinia and Lazio in Italy, Southern Rhone and Languedoc-Roussillon in France and Catalonia in Spain. A curious fact is that in the Languedoc-Roussillon there is also a white version of the variety, which is called Carignan Blanc.
Karinyan in fact, there are several different names depending on the country in which it is grown. In France it is Kirinian, and in Italy it is called Carignano. In Spain it is called carinena, and in California it sounds like Kerinen.
The Carignan variety is quite pretentious due to the fact that it blooms late and ripens late, and at the same time is quite susceptible to most of the diseases that affect the vines. Despite its pretentiousness, Carignan is a grape that gives extremely high yields.
This cannot be defined as a particularly positive feature, because high yields can mean too much production and a lack of market interest. The lack of interest is exacerbated by the fact that high-yielding vineyards tend to produce poorly concentrated fruit, which is not able to become a quality wine.
History of Karinyan
Early Italian wine writers speculated that karinyan in fact, it is a Phoenician wine grape variety that was brought to the island of Sardinia by the Phoenicians as early as the 9th century BC. From there, the grapes are thought to have spread to other Phoenician colonies and eventually reached mainland Italy and brought to the western Mediterranean by the ancient Romans.
Today, ampelographers largely deviate from this theory due to the lack of historical documents or evidence from DNA analysis to confirm Phoenician or Italian origin. Instead, all the evidence points to the Spanish origin of the Carignan.
Ampelographers believe that karinyan is probably a very old variety that most likely originated in the Aragan region of northwestern Spain. It was probably brought to Sardinia sometime between 1323 and 1720, when the island was under Spanish influence. At one point, Carignan reached Algeria, where it became a variety that gave very high additions, which were exported to France to be blended with French wines.
After a disease that devastated much of the French vineyards in the mid-19th century, the plantations with karinyan in France they increase significantly. They grew even more when Algeria gained independence in 1962. The largest number of plantations in France was in 1988, when the vines with Carignan amounted to 167 thousand hectares.
Characteristics of the Karinyan
Wines of the variety karinyan are characterized by a very dark color, high acidity, a large amount of tannins, excessive astringency and generally do not leave a wonderful impression on the consumer. When Beaujolais wines are made from the Carignan variety, then there is a much better result - pure color, softened tannins and light fruity aromas.
In wine production, Carignan grapes are often used only as a deep-color component in wines in which the main varieties are different.
Very rarely, wines are produced only from the variety, which is due to the serious difficulty of winemakers to work with this high acidity, tannins and tartness. It takes a lot of skill to make an elegant and refined wine, not sour and intrusive.
In most cases, Carignan blends with the Syrah and Grenache varieties. Great results are obtained when the vines are older - 50-60 years or more.
Serving Karinian
Karinyan goes very well with venison, steaks with potatoes, and the taste of duck served with carignan is excellent. Duck is the meat that goes best with this wine. If you want something different, serve Kirinyan with figs - their soft sweetness contrasts nicely with the higher acidity of the wine.
This means that one of the most perfect dishes that this red wine can be served with is duck fillet with sauce. You will get an amazing combination that will significantly soften the sharp wine tannins.
Karinyan goes well with a variety of sausages and poultry, roasted vegetables and fatty meats. Lasagna and spaghetti with meat, as well as traditional Italian sausages with spices are amazing with a glass of carignan.
In general in different countries karinyan served with various dishes. For example, in Europe it is served with a Catalan sausage with pepper, in Asia - with a lobster with black pepper, in America - with lasagna with eggplant and spicy meatballs, and in Africa and the Middle East - with meatballs.
Carignan is served at room temperature to get the most out of its taste.
