Counoise

Counoise is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have much depth of colour or tannin. There were 638 hectares (1,580 acres) of Counoise in France in 2000.

Counoise is one of the grapes allowed into the blend of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine. In 2004 only 0.5% of the appellation's surface was planted with Counoise. Some producer which favour the variety use about 5% of it in their blends, and account for most of the plantations. One such producer is Château de Beaucastel, which is noted for using all the 13 allowed varieties.