Chambourcin

After a few days in Europe, we're heading back to the US to sample a grape born in France, but planted largely in the non-wine growing regions of the US. Unlike the other grapes we have tasted on this journey, Chambourcin is vitus vitaceae and not vitus vinifera. And, also unlike many of these other grapes, this is a new grape having been "invented" during my lifetime.

Deep red on the vine, we pick a few and notice that unlike other red wine grapes, the juice that emanates is pinkish rather than the clear juice that we normally expect from grapes that produce red wines.

This grape was bred successfully to be very disease and rot resistant and this attributes to its popularity among growers in non-traditional growing areas such as the mid-Atlantic region of the US.

The wines that are produced from Chambourcin are red, not at all tannic (the skins are smooth to the touch indicating a lack of tannins and highly acidic). Expect lots of spice and lots of red -- red fruit, red flora, and red everything else you can think of.

Whether dry or made in an off-dry/semi-sweet style, drink Chambourcin with BBQ, hot dogs, fowl, or cherry pie. And, to calm down the ultra-high acidity for a red wine, be sure to serve it cold, perhaps around 50-52F (10-11C).

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