{"title":"Cinsault","description":"\u003cp\u003eCinsault, a heat-tolerant red wine grape, flourishes in southern France and is also making significant strides in Chile, particularly in the Itata Valley. Known for its high yields, Cinsault in France is a staple in the aromatic profiles of Languedoc-Roussillon wines and Provençal rosés, where it imparts delicate red fruit flavors and floral notes. In Chile, Cinsault is increasingly appreciated as a standalone varietal wine, celebrated for its bright acidity, red berry flavors, and soft tannins. This adaptability makes it a favorite for crafting approachable, easy-to-drink wines, particularly appealing in its pure, unblended form in the Itata Valley, marking a distinctive presence in the wine landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"pedro-parra-hub-2021","title":"Pedro Parra “Hub” 2021","description":"","brand":"Giuliana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44283854258399,"sku":"","price":44.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P7261703.jpg?v=1690406735"},{"product_id":"pedro-parra-hub-2022","title":"Pedro Parra “Trane” 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Land:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSourced from a single vineyard planted in 1944 in the remote hills of Guarilihue Alto, \"Trane\" 2021 draws its character from Itata Valley’s unique silty, sandy soils of red decomposed granite. These ancient, unirrigated bush vines thrive on a rugged terrain shaped by Chile’s coastal influence, where cool breezes and granitic soils converge to produce grapes of remarkable concentration and freshness. The vineyard’s natural resilience, coupled with low-intervention farming, allows the terroir’s mineral-driven essence to shine through in every bottle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Wine:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrafted from 100% Cinsault, \"Trane\" embodies the improvisational spirit and intensity of its namesake, jazz legend John Coltrane. Hand-harvested and fermented whole cluster with indigenous yeasts in concrete, the wine captures the raw energy and tension of the vineyard. Aged for 12 months in a combination of concrete and oak cask, it’s a vibrant expression of Cinsault, with layers of red cherry, wild raspberry, and lifted floral notes underscored by earthy spice and a streak of salinity. The bright acidity and fine-grained tannins give the wine a rhythmic complexity that plays out with each sip, inviting contemplation and enjoyment.This wine is absolutely stunning\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe People:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePedro Parra, Chile’s foremost terroir specialist, brings his deep understanding of soil and vineyard dynamics to life in \"Trane.\" Known for his meticulous approach and profound respect for the land, Parra’s winemaking philosophy is rooted in authenticity and a sense of place. This personal project channels the same creative freedom and precision found in Coltrane’s music, pushing boundaries while honoring tradition. With \"Trane,\" Parra delivers a Cinsault that is as complex and engaging as the artist it’s named after. This is without a doubt, one of the most exciting producers in Chile! \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood pairing: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGrilled or Roasted Poultry\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChicken or turkey, especially when simply seasoned or lightly spiced, works well with the wine's fresh acidity and bright fruit character.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCharcuterie and Soft Cheeses\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA charcuterie board with lighter cured meats like prosciutto, and cheeses such as brie or camembert, pairs nicely with the wine’s delicate body and fruity nature.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVegetarian Dishes with Tomatoes or Peppers\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThink dishes like roasted vegetable salads, stuffed peppers, pizza or pasta with tomato-based sauces. The wine’s acidity complements the sweetness and acidity of tomatoes and peppers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Giuliana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44283854618847,"sku":"","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P7261702.jpg?v=1690406725"},{"product_id":"pedro-parra-trane-2022","title":"Pedro Parra Trane 2022","description":"","brand":"Giuliana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47026126291167,"sku":"","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P5311222.jpg?v=1748742604"},{"product_id":"pedro-parra-miles-2022","title":"Pedro Parra Miles 2022","description":"","brand":"Giuliana","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48338510676191,"sku":null,"price":77.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/PC310555.jpg?v=1767216925"},{"product_id":"two-shepherds-bechtold-cinsault-2022","title":"Two Shepherds Bechthold Vineyard Cinsault 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLodi has a reputation for big, warm-climate Zinfandel, which makes the most historically important vineyard in the appellation a strange fit. Bechthold Vineyard was planted in 1886 and is the oldest surviving Cinsault planting anywhere in the world. The vines are head-trained, dry-farmed, and still on their own roots after nearly 140 years, sitting on deep sandy soils in the Mokelumne River sub-appellation. Sand is the reason they survived: phylloxera cannot move through it. The other reason Lodi works better than its reputation suggests is the Delta breeze, cold air pulled inland from San Francisco Bay every afternoon, which drops night temperatures sharply and preserves acidity in a place that reads hot on a map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e100% Cinsault from Bechthold. The fruit comes in whole cluster, gets a light foot tread, and ferments semi-carbonic in small three-quarter-ton picking bins, then goes straight to neutral French oak puncheons without settling for around seven months of elevage. No new oak, no fining, minimal handling. That method is built to protect a grape with naturally low color and low tannin rather than to compensate for it. The wine is pale, almost translucent, with wild strawberry, red plum, dried rose, orange peel, and a peppery, dusty finish. Body is light, acidity is high, tannin is fine and barely there. 2022 brought an extreme Labor Day heat event across interior California, and the year rewarded producers who picked ahead of it and kept extraction light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilliam Allen started Two Shepherds in 2010 as a micro-winery focused on Rhone varieties that nobody else in California was taking seriously; Karen Daenen joined as a partner in 2015. They work out of Windsor in Sonoma County, where they hand-farm a small organic Grenache and Grenache Gris vineyard of their own, with a donkey turning the soil in winter and a cat handling the gophers. For everything else they lease specific rows from small family-owned growers on long-term contracts, farming those blocks to their own specifications. Bechthold is farmed sustainably and dry-farmed, and Two Shepherds is one of a handful of producers trusted with fruit from it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLight, high-acid, and peppery, so it belongs with food rather than in front of it. Grilled pork chops with peaches and thyme, salmon with herb butter, mushroom and gruyere tart, or a plate of soft cheeses and charcuterie all work. The acidity handles fat and the low tannin means it will not clash with fish or spice. Serve it at 55 to 60 degrees; this is a red that gets meaningfully better with 20 minutes in the fridge and meaningfully worse at room temperature.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LeDuc Wine Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51195291893983,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8150118_ef9a3f58-de3d-4057-a407-5bb158035ffd.jpg?v=1786842645"},{"product_id":"badenhorst-ramnasgras-cinsault-2023","title":"A.A. Badenhorst Ramnasgras Cinsault 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Swartland reads as hot, dry, and flat from a distance, and the Paardeberg corrects that impression. The mountain is a granite pluton rising out of the wheat country between Malmesbury and Wellington, and the Badenhorst farms climb its slopes from 180 to 330 meters. Ramnasgras is a single 1.6-hectare parcel of old bush vines facing southeast, planted in decomposed granite. Granite here is a specific kind of luck: it drains hard, holds almost no nutrient, and forces vines to root deep, which is what keeps a naturally high-yielding variety like Cinsault honest. The vineyard takes its name from a seasonal ground cover sown between the rows. The vines are trained as bush vines, unstaked, and the farm is worked largely without irrigation, on winter rainfall alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne hundred percent Cinsault. Whole bunches go into seasoned old wooden vats and ferment on indigenous yeast, pumped over once a day, then pressed off as fermentation finishes. The wine spends 12 months in a large foudre and is bottled straight off its gross lees. It lands at 12 percent alcohol with 4.4 grams per liter total acidity and 1.7 grams residual sugar. Red cherry and raspberry, damp earth, and a peppery edge lead into a light-bodied red with real grip and fine, soft tannins. Serve it cool. The 2023 vintage across the Cape was long and cool with no significant heat waves; the Swartland crop came in about 15 percent smaller than 2022, and grapes reached full ripeness at lower sugars with low pH and high natural acidity. The 12 percent alcohol here is the vintage talking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdi Badenhorst is fourth-generation Cape wine. His grandfather managed Groot Constantia for 46 years, and his father was born on that estate and later farmed at Buitenverwachting and Constantia Uitsig. Adi trained at Elsenburg, worked harvests at Château Angélus, Alain Graillot in the northern Rhône, and Wither Hills in New Zealand, then spent nine years as winemaker at Rustenberg in Stellenbosch and left. In 2007 and 2008 he and his cousin Hein bought Kalmoesfontein, a run-down Paardeberg farm whose cellar had not crushed a grape since the 1930s. Cinsault helped get them there. Long dismissed as a bulk grape, it went unreplanted for decades, which is why old parcels survived here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCinsault at 12 percent alcohol with acidity like this belongs on the table with food that has char and spice but not weight. Lamb sosaties off the grill, cubed and marinated with apricot and curry spice, is the home pairing, and it works because the wine's red fruit meets the apricot head-on. Duck breast with a sour cherry pan sauce echoes the fruit directly. A mushroom and thyme tart picks up the earthy side. Grilled sardines with lemon and olive oil are not a stretch either, since the tannins are soft enough to sit beside oily fish. Chill it twenty minutes and it becomes the red you drink all summer without apologizing for it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Maverick Wine Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51247923757279,"sku":null,"price":68.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8220173.jpg?v=1787526007"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/collections\/cinsault.webp?v=1793249747","url":"https:\/\/denverwinemerchant.com\/collections\/cinsault.oembed","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}