page_title: Carignan
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Carignan / Wine regions / United States
caption_attribution_description: California jug wine being used in a Sangria recipe.
context_page_description: Carignan is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterranean and around the globe. Along with Aramon, it was considered one of the main grapes responsible for France's wine lake and was a substantial producer in jug wine production in California's Central Valley but in recent years, it has been reborn as a flagship wine for many cellars in the south of France as well as in Catalonia.
  Ampelographers believe that the grape likely originated in Cariñena, Aragon and was later transplanted to Sardinia, elsewhere in Italy, France, Algeria, and much of the New World. The variety was historically a component of Rioja's red wine blend. The grape's prominence in France hit a high point in 1988 when it accounted for 167,000 hectares and was France's most widely planted grape variety. That year, in a drive to increase the overall quality of European wine and to reduce the growing wine lake phenomenon, the European Union started an aggressive vine pull scheme where vineyard owners were offered cash subsidies in exchange for pulling up their vines.
context_section_description: At one point in California's wine history, Carignane (as  it is known there) was the third most widely planted grape variety but has since dropped considerably in production. The majority of the vines were planted in the Central Valley and used to make inexpensive box and jug wines. In the 1970s and 1980s, Californian Carignane was one of the leading "home winemaking" grapes in production. In 2010, there were 1,373 hectares (3,390 acres) of the grape planted in the state with American Viticultural Areas in Contra Costa, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties seeing a slight increase in interest while plantings the Central Valley have declined.
  Outside of California, plantings of the grape can be found in Washington State as well as in Missouri and Texas.
caption: For many years Carignan was the third most widely planted grape in California where it was a major component in the production of many varieties of jug wines.
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