The Wine Pair Podcast

WTF is Cinsault?

• The Wine Pair • Season 1 • Episode 183

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Summer is almost over, but we found a great end of the summer wine that is chillable, quaffable, and easy drinking. In fact, this may be the wine that convinces your non-wine drinking friends that wine can be awesome. Most often used as a blending grape to add fruity aromas and softness to more tannic wines, on its own, Cinsault is a light, fruity, thoroughly enjoyable wine that belongs on your wine list. Perfect for cookouts and parties! Cinsault is also a wine known by many different names and is grown all over the world, and you probably have had it more than you know because of how often it is blended into red wine. And, evidently, if you are a big escargot fan, this is the wine for you! We also have a great conversation with one of our listeners, and we talk about the end of the controversy over the foil on Champagne wine bottles - and we bet you didn’t know there was a controversy about it. We also, unfortunately, ran into another corked wine in our tasting portion of the episode, but that’s ok because it helps you know that it does happen and what you might experience when you run into a corked wine. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2024 Lubanzi Cinsault,  2021 Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault

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Show Notes

Episode #183: WTF is Cinsault?  00:00

Hello fellow Grape Nuts! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair!

If you are new to our podcast, here is what you can expect. If you love wine and want to find great wines at affordable prices, and you want to expand your wine horizons, and you want to have some laughs and fun while doing it - then you are in the right place! Each week we explore a different wine varietal, style, brand, or region of the winemaking world, and learn about what makes them worth knowing about. And then we taste 2-3 of those wines that are reasonably priced to let you know if they are worth your hard earned money. If that feels like your vibe, then we are super happy you are here. And, we are proud to say that Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining.

We’ve got some stuff to do this week - a fun story to share in our wine in the news this week section, and we have a wine you really need to know in Cinsault to cover, but before we do that,,  we have to take a minute to introduce you to listener Tim, aka Timmy, who gave us our name of our tribe this week, so let’s hear from Tim . . .

Interview with listener Tim 01:46


That was super fun, Carmela. We are really lucky to have such a great group of people in our tribe of listeners who  take the time to reach out and are willing to do things like come on the show. Tim and I had a great conversation - what a great guy, and I am telling you, we want to drink with him because he knows his wine and he drinks some bangers! And, remember, if you have a name for the tribe you want us to use, send us a note or DM us and we’ll see if you want to be on the show!

Alright, so this week we are going to be talking about a wine that I am a little surprised we have not covered before, and that is the wine Cinsault (san-so). It is also a wine that I have mispronounced about a million times and am probably still mispronouncing, but you know what, that is ok! We don’t care how you pronounce it as long as you know about it.

Cinsault is one of those wines that is well known, at least among wine nerds, but that is not that well understood more broadly because it shows up mostly as a blending grape and rarely the star of the wine. So, we are going to spend some time learning about it and tasting and reviewing some Cinsault wines we picked up to see if they are worth you going out and looking for, but before that, we need to get to . . .

WIne in the news this week: Champagne foil is now optional  07:58

Carmela, do you know what a coiffe (Kwahf - sounds like the beginning of a New Yorker saying coffee) is? I had no idea either. It is the French name for the foil that is used at the top of bottles of Champagne and other sparkling wines that covers the cork and cage - and yes, cage is the name of the metal wire, and in French it is known as muselet, and the cork is called bouchon. So, put all of that in your brain box, and you can wow your friends by saying, give me a minute to undue the coiffe so I can loosen the muselet and pop the bouchon. You’ll instantly be called the biggest dork at the party! 

So, this week in the news, I ran across an article from The Times in London by David Chazan - and there were several other articles about it which you can find in our show notes, and the article was entitled Champagne foil made optional after two-year battle with EU.

So, here is the story. A group of independent and organic producers, led by a movement called “Ça décoiffe en Champagne,” (Ça is pronounced “sa”) started pushing back on using foil a couple of years ago. They argued the foil was wasteful, unnecessary, and outdated. They also argued that the foil, which sometimes includes plastic, was adding carbon to the process, and probably most importantly, it adds to the cost of producing wine, which is just getting worse with all of the tariffs. 

The controversy kicked off because the traditionalists, led by some group I can’t pronounce, were adamant that the foil was part of Champagne’s identity - as a symbol of prestige and authenticity, and that would be lost if the foil was removed. There have also been practical reasons to have the foil, such as hiding some of the sediment that can be present in the bottle. They worried that without it, Champagne would look too much like any other sparkling wine. 

There were some accusations that some of the big trade groups were pushing back so hard on removing the foil because they had a financial interest in keeping it, since they also profited from selling it to producers. So what sounds like a silly fight over packaging actually turned into a pretty bitter debate about heritage, image, money, and power in Champagne.

Fast forward to this summer, and the EU finally made its decision. After reviewing studies that showed consumers didn’t really care whether Champagne bottles had the foil or not, the EU ruled that the coiffe is now optional. The Comité Champagne, which had fought against the change for two years, quietly dropped its opposition. 

So, that’s the quick story, but now Carmela, I have some questions from you:

  • Does the foil matter at all to you? Is it part of the magic of Champagne and sparkling wine, part of the prestige and ritual. or just wrapping that doesn’t matter?
  • Would you be more or less likely to buy a sparkling wine or Champagne if it skipped the foil? Do you think most people will care or not?


But we are not here to talk about coiffe, Carmlea, and we are not here to talk about Champagne or sparkling wine or any of that stuff. We are here to talk about the wine Cinsault, and we have two Cinsault wines, one from France and one from South Africa to taste and review and see if they are worth your hard earned money . . . 

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and if you haven’t  had the chance to do so yet, now would be the perfect time to follow or subscribe to our podcast and leave us a nice rating and review  to help us grow our listeners - and a huge thank you to all of you who have subscribed already! 

You can also follow us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast, and on Bluesky. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and you can also visit our “Shop Wine” and “Shop Accessories” sections where you can find links to buy the wines that we rate as buys in each episode and accessories we think are great choices for wine lovers and as gifts, too. 

And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us and give us some feedback or let us know if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! joe@thewinepairpodcast.com
Shout out to Ryan who let us know that he tried Chablis, and even liked it! 
Shout out to Christene R, AKA Tips2LiveBy, who gave us some names for our tribe


And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to - because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us - and this week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who loves Pinot Noir or Grenache because they may be interested in learning more about this grape and wine!


RESEARCH ARTICLES AND LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE



Topic: WTF is Cinsault? 15:51

Ok, Carmela, it is time to dig into just what the eff Cinsault wine is.

First thing we should know is that this grape has a ton of synonyms like Samso in Spain or Senso in Bulgaria, or Malaga in Hungary, and it is also sometimes spelled without the “l” before the “t,” so don’t get confused if you see that.

You may not know this, but the history of Cinsault is hotly debated. Some think it is a random mutation of a grape from Southern France, while others believe it was brought to France by Greek merchants. But, know one really knows. It’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Documented references to Cinsault go back to the 15th century in southern France, and it has also been mentioned historically in Spain and Italy - and given the number of synonyms, some of which we haven’t even covered yet, it could have come from anywhere, really!

Carmela, this is another one of those grapes that has been considered a workhorse, which, depending on how you look at it, is either flattering or a bit of an insult. The reason it is considered a workhorse is because it grows very vigorously and is tolerant to heat and drought. So it is really well suited to hot climates, and is a grape that is good for farmers to grow because it is so hearty, and so they can grow a lot of it and use it in a variety of ways.

It is the fourth most planted grape variety in France, and is a major grape in Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, and southern Rhône. But, you can find it all over the place, including North Africa, the Middle East, South Africa, the US, Australia, Chile, and Italy.

In South Africa it is known as Hermitage and is one of the grapes that was cross-bred with Pinot Noir to create Pinotage, which we did not like - you can check out our episode on WTF is Pinotage. In America, it was brought to California during the gold rush in the mid 1800’s where it was known as Black Malvoisie, and actually the oldest continuing growing Cinsault vineyard in the world is said to be the Bechthold Vineyard in Lodi, California, that was planted in 1886.

Traditionally, Cinsault has been a blending grape that adds complexity to aromas, softness and freshness to strong and tannic wines like Grenache and Syrah, and because it has low tannins and high acidity, it has often been used as a wine for making rosé wines of high quality - particularly in Provence and the Rhône Valley. Tavel rosé wine that we did an episode on a bit ago is often made with a good ratio of Cinsault in the mix. Other famous wines where Cinsault is an important blending grape are Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Languedoc-Roussillon Reds, Gigondas from Côtes du Rhône, and Zinfandel blends in California.

Like a lot of wines we have covered, it declined in popularity in the 20th century in some ways due to the fact that it is a workhorse wine. Because it grows so vigorously, it sometimes was over grown and resulted in wines that were considered light and not of high quality. As recently as the period between 2000 and 2010, 14% of Cinsault vineyards globally were removed.

However, some say it is going through a mini-renaissance, especially in places like Chile, Australia, Puglia in Italy, and Lebanon. As a wine it is often described as soft structure, light color, fragrant red berry and floral aromas, juicy acidity, and low tannins.

On a very interesting side note, the wine is said to be the perfect pairing with escargot, which I refuse to eat. Would you eat them?

But that’s enough information. I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?


Cinsault Wines We Chose for This Episode 23:06

As usual, the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $25, and both of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought them at wine.com. Cinsault as a stand-alone varietal may not be the easiest wine to find, so look for wine shops with big French or California wine collections or wines from South Africa or Australia. 

The first wine we are going to drink is the 2024 Lubanzi Cinsault which is from South Africa, specifically Swartland which is a major wine making area about an hour north of Cape Town and is most well known for Chenin Blanc, which we did a whole episode about last year - specifically South African Chenin Blanc. Like a lot of wineries from that area, Lubanzi practices sustainable farming, and they also claim to be 100% carbon neutral which is nice to know if that is important to you, which it should be, and they are also 100% Vegan. 

The winery says Cinsault is known as the Pinot Noir of the Swartland, and is made from 36 year old dry farmed grapes that were hand-picked in the early morning, underwent partial carbonic maceration and what they say is natural secondary malolactic fermentation (they abbreviate as MLF in case you were wondering what that means). 

I had to look that up because I was not sure what partial carbonic maceration meant. Carbonic maceration is when the winemaker puts whole, uncrushed grapes in a closed tank filled with carbon dioxide gas. Then, inside each grape, a kind of “mini fermentation” starts without yeast. This is said to make fruity, candy-like flavors. In partial carbonic maceration some grapes are left whole so they ferment inside the berry, and some are crushed so they ferment normally with yeast. It is supposed to create a wine that’s fruity and fresh, but still has some depth and structure. And then malolactic fermentation helps to tamp down on the acidity of the wine. 

The winery also says the wine is named for a wandering dog who led the founders 6 days and 100 miles hiking across South Africa’s coast. So that’s kind of cool. Established only in 2016, they say they are a collaborative project begun by two young travelers and a consortium of winemakers, farm laborers, and creatives throughout South Africa. 

They also use a really interesting cork - called a twist-off helix cork which kind of works like a screwcap - it’s a cork, but doesn’t need a cork screw to open. Kind of a middle ground between the ease of a screwcap but with the tradition of cork closure. So this will be interesting. The wine is also super bright red. 

The second wine we are drinking is the 2021 Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault, which is from a boutique winery in France that is also certified organic. I could not find any professional ratings for this wine, so we will do it for you!

It was a little hard to find out a ton about this wine, so here is what I have as best as I can tell. The grapes are 100% de-stemmed, pressed, cold-soaked, and then left to settle for 36 hours on native yeasts. It undergoes malolactic fermentation, and then is aged for five months “in tank” which I am assuming is stainless steel. The wine is left unfined and plate filtered, and they do not add sulfur. 

This is kind of fun. They say that bottling generally takes place in February, on the same date as the flowering of the almond trees, and that is where the wine gets its name from. 

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us to get some participation points, which you can trade-in for free stickers. You just need to send me an email with your mailing address, and I will get those “I drink with The Wine Pair Podcast” stickers over to you!


LINKS TO SOURCES FOR THESE SPECIFIC WINES



2024 Lubanzi Cinsault,  2021 Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 28:53

Wine: Lubanzi Cinsault (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase.)
Region: South Africa, Swartland
Year: 2024
Price: $15.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13.5%
Grapes: Cinsault
Professional Rating: JS 90 Vivino 3.9

What we tasted and smelled in this Lubanzi Cinsault: 

  • Color: Light ruby red, very pretty, translucent
  • On the nose: Very fragrant, strawberry Starburst, dried cranberry, pomegranate, very fruity, sweet, smoke on the swirl, dark plum, some black pepper, fresh flowers fresh roses
  • In the mouth: Fruit juice, pleasant sweetness, strawberry fruit juice popsicle,some bramble or earthiness, raspberry jam, cherry, very smooth, not very complex - a good wine for people who are not sure about wine, summer picnic wine served a little chilled 


Food to pair with this Lubanzi Cinsault: Good with or without food, nothing too overpowering, pork, chicken, grilled pork chops, spicy pork ribs, not steak or heavy sauces or stews
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, with no half points, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 


Lubanzi Cinsault Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 7/10
  • Carmela: 8/10


Wine: Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault
Region: France, Languedoc
Year: 2021
Price: $19.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: Cinsault
Professional Rating: Vivino 3.9

What we tasted and smelled in this Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault: 

  • Color: A bit cloudy ruby red - because it is corked
  • On the nose: wine is corked
  • In the mouth: wine is corked


Food to pair with this Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault: Wine is corked
 

Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault Wine Rating: 

  • No rating - wine is corked


Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

  • Carmela: Lubanzi Cinsault
  • Joe: Lubanzi Cinsault


Taste profiles expected from Cinsault 39:44

  • Cinsault
    • Noted for red berries like raspberry, red currant, pomegranate,  tart cherry, violet, rose perfume, white pepper, earthiness, and black tea
  • Lubanzi Cinsault
    • Winery: Raspberry and blueberry, with a smoky undertone on the nose. A mouth of red apple, cracked pepper, earth, and diffused powdery tannins. 
    • JS: A refreshing and fruity red that has notes of raspberries, violets and strawberries on the nose, as well as citrus peel. It’s medium-bodied and fresh with crunchy tannins.
  • Domaine des Homs L'Amandier Cinsault
    • Triangle Wine Company: Bursting with notes of blueberries, cassis and strawberries and seemingly seasoned with white pepper, “L’Amandier” is the ultimate easy-drinking, everyday red.
    • The Wine Country: We love this wine for its lightness in texture and lacy, delicate fruit on the palate. A red that can take a little chill and keep delivering zippy fruit and refreshment. Touch of herbal on the finish makes this such a food friendly wine


What is the verdict on Cinsault? 41:44
We want to learn more and we are very interested in drinking this wine more and more. A great summer, chillable wine. A great Thanksgiving wine.


Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 42:50
Ok, so, Carmela, it’s time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to follow or subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast app - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

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Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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