Teinturier

"Teinturier", a French language term meaning to dye or stain, is a wine term applied to grapes whose flesh and juice is red in colour [cite encyclopedia |editor=Jancis Robinson | encyclopedia=Oxford Companion to Wine |edition= Third Edition |title=Teinturier |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-860990-6 |pages=688-689 ] due to anthocyanin pigments accumulating within the pulp of the grape berry itself. In most cases, anthocyanin pigments are confined to the outer skin tissue only, and the squeezed grape juice of most dark-skinned grape varieties is clear. The red colour of red wine comes from anthocyanins extracted from the macerated (crushed) skins, over a period of days during the fermentation process.

Teinturier varieties, while containing a lot of colour, usually make poor wines, perhaps due to a higher level of tannins, compounds structurally related to the anthocyanins. Many winemakers blend small volumes of teinturier juices into their wines, to boost the colour, without dramatically impacting the taste.

Examples of teinturier grape varieties are the Pinot (fin) teinturier, Alicante Bouschet, Saperavi and Dunkelfelder.

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