Alicante & Piquepoul noir grape varieties: characteristics and cultivation

Discover the Alicante and Piquepoul noir grape varieties: their characteristics, their cultivation & their vinification at the heart of a committed estate like ours in Occitanie.

Alicante & Piquepoul noir grape varieties: understanding their identity and culture

At the heart of our work as winemakers lies an essential element: the grape variety.

It gives the wine its personality, its balance, but also a large part of its expression.

At the estate, we grow several grape varieties adapted to the Mediterranean environment that surrounds us.

Among them, two varieties illustrate our approach particularly well: Alicante and Piquepoul noir.

Two very different yet complementary grape varieties, each with its own vision of wine, terroir and life.

What is a grape variety?

A grape variety is a vine variety selected for its specific characteristics: its aromas, its structure, its adaptation to the climate or its natural resistance.

Each grape variety reacts differently depending on :

• The floor,
• The climate,
• Farming practices

It is this interaction that gives rise to unique wines.

In our approach, the grape variety is never isolated: it is part of a global ecosystem, where the vine cohabits with other plant and animal species that inhabit the estate.

Alicante: a powerful, lively red grape variety

A rare feature

Alicante, or Alicante Bouschet, is an atypical grape variety. It’s one of the rare grape varieties known as “teinturiers”, meaning that its flesh is naturally colored. The result is wines with a deep, almost black color, and great intensity, thanks to a grape adapted to our climate.

In the south of France, Alicante naturally finds its place because it enjoys :

• Heat,
• The light,
• Well-drained soils

It resists well to dry conditions, which makes it a grape variety consistent with a more resilient viticulture in the face of current climatic changes.

Wines from Alicante offer :

• Black fruit aromas (blackberry, blackcurrant, etc.),
• Spicy notes,
• A tannic structure

A true grape variety with character, Alicante reveals powerful, harmonious wines when mastered with precision – an expression you’ll find to the full in our cuvée, available here: https://carrierepradal.fr/produit/alicante/

The way we grow it:

At the estate, we seek to accompany the vines rather than constrain them.

This involves :

• Attention to soil life,
• The presence of trees and hedges (agroforestry),
• Limited intervention

The aim is to allow the grape variety to express its full potential, without standardizing it.

Alicante winemaking

For this grape variety, vinification aims to reveal its natural richness without excess.

We give priority to :

• Right maturities,
• Controlled extraction,
• A balance of structure and finesse

Every decision is guided by the grape, not by a fixed recipe.

Piquepoul noir: character and freshness
A rare southern grape variety

Piquepoul noir is an ancient grape variety of the Mediterranean coastline, now more confidential than its white version. Yet it shares a strong identity with the white variety: a natural liveliness that brings balance and depth to red wines.

In sunny regions like ours, preserving freshness in red wines is a real challenge.

Piquepoul noir is just the thing:

• Produce light, dynamic red wines,
• Maintain good tension despite the heat,
• To offer fresh, digestible and original profiles, often marked by notes of red fruit and spices.

These are wines that go well with simple moments: a meal, an aperitif or a shared moment.

Farming on the estate

As with all our grape varieties, we integrate Piquepoul noir into a living, balanced environment.

This implies :

• Gentle, respectful vine management,
• Careful observation throughout the vegetative cycle,
• A deep respect for natural balance

The grape variety reveals its full personality when it evolves in a rich, living ecosystem.

Two grape varieties, one philosophy

Alicante and Piquepoul noir are very different:

• One is red, generous and structured,
• The other is a light, fresh, airy red.

But they share the same vision: to produce wines that are sincere, accessible and in harmony with their terroir.

A global approach to vine growing

Beyond the grape variety, our work is based on an overall vision.

We aim to create a balance between :

• The vine,
• Trees,
• Soils,
• Biodiversity

Why rediscover these varieties today?

In a context where consumers are looking for more meaning, grape varieties such as Alicante and Piquepoul noir are naturally regaining their place.

They offer :

• A strong identity,
• A natural adaptation to the climate,
• Authentic profiles

They also make it possible to break away from standards and offer more singular wines.

To understand grape varieties is to enter into the complexity and richness of the world of wine.

Alicante and Piquepoul noir are two different but complementary expressions of our region.

Through their cultivation and vinification, we seek above all to respect what nature gives us, and thus pass it on in every bottle.