Carnelian is a UC Davis cross of Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Grenache, bred by Harold Olmo specifically for the heat of California's Central Valley. CDFA's ledger shows bearing acreage falling sharply, from 1,561 acres near 2000 to a low of 164 acres before edging back up to 259 by 2025, concentrated in Fresno, Kern, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Tulare counties. Crush volumes were once large, peaking at about 9,162 tons in a year, but reporting under this name stopped after 2020. It was designed for bulk-friendly color and yield rather than varietal bottling.
What kind of grape this is
- Species
- VITIS VINIFERA LINNÉ SUBSP. SATIVA (DE CANDOLLE) HEGI
- Berry color
- NOIR
- Country of origin
- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- Approved on a US label
- Carnelian
- FPS selections
- 1
the names TTB permits on a bottle
distinct clones and selections held at UC Davis
Registries
What is published
Counts describe what this atlas holds for Carnelian, not what California grows. A zero is a published answer: it means the source names the grape and reports nothing under it, or does not name it at all.
- 111
county-years of acreage
7 counties, 259 bearing acres in 2025
- 38
district-years of crush
3 of 17 crush districts, 20 crop years
- 38
district-years of Brix
tonnage-weighted at the crusher, Crush Report Table 3
- 0
producers in this atlas
producers whose curated wine list names it — a curated roster of 2,772 producers, not a census of California
- —
regions with a maturity date
not one of the eight cultivars with a
Acreage in California
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Counties and concentration
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Where it is planted
Reported by county — never by AVA
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Share of each county's vineyard
Reported by county — never by AVA
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The counties
Reported by county — never by AVA
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Tonnage and price by district
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
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Brix at the crusher
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
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