Alicante Bouschet, also known as Alicante Henri Bouschet, in the name of its creator, is a red grape variety that has been widely cultivated since 1866. It is a cross between Petit Bouschet (itself a cross of the ancient variety Teinturier du Cher and Aramon, created by Henry's father Louis ) and Grenache. Alicante is a type of grape called Teinturier, an intensely coloured variety, often used in blends with lighter grapes. It is also one of the few of its kind to belong to the vitis vinifera species. It was planted extensively in California during the prohibition period and then exported to the East Coast due to its ability to withstand such extensive travel. Its thick skin makes it resistant to arid climates and high temperatures, but unfortunately susceptible to mould and downy mildew. At one time, Alicante Bouschet, thanks to its exceptional yields was among the most widely cultivated red wine grapes in France, especially in the south of the country. In 1958, it covered almost 25,000 hectares under vine, only to collapse to 4,000 only 50 years later, abandoned in Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Loire precisely because of its fragility to moisture. This scenario, however, has been absolutely overturned in countries with a warm climate, such as Portugal in the Alentejo, Spain, Italy and Israel, where this grape variety is increasingly used. In Spain, it is also known as Garnacha Tintorera, probably the most famous of its synonyms.