Definition: Teinturier

For a wine produced from red-juice grapes, rich in colour. A teinturier wine is used in blends to enhance the colour. Name also given to a few rare black grape varieties with coloured pulp and juice. The best known are Alicante Bouschet, Gamay Fréaux and Gamay Chaudenay, also known as Gamays Teinturiers. However, the vast majority of black grape varieties produce white must. The colouring agents are found exclusively in the skin surrounding the grape, hence the need for cuvage. Teinturier grape varieties are prohibited in AOC blends.