Tannat is a red
wine grape, historically grown in
South West France in the
Madiran AOC, and is now one of the most prominent grapes in
Uruguay, where it is considered the "national grape". It is also grown in
Argentina,
Australia,
Brazil,
Peru,
South Africa, Bolivia, and in the
Italian region of
Apulia, where it is used as a blending grape. In the
US states of
Maryland and
Virginia, there are small experimental plantings of the vine, and plantings in
California have increased dramatically in the first years of the 21st Century. It also shows great promise in
Arizona. Tannat wines produced in Uruguay are usually quite different in character from Madiran wines, being lighter in body and lower in
tannins. It is also used to make
Armagnac and
full bodied rosé. In France, efforts to solve the harsh tannic nature of the grape led to the development of the
winemaking technique known as
micro-oxygenation.