Probably of Spanish origin, it was for long the most important but, sadly, by no means the most distinguished, vine in France, producing berries which are blue-black, with fairly thick, astringent skins. It was chosen as a replacement for the Aramon which perished in the frosts of 1956 and 1963 because it is extremely productive and buds late, so rarely suffers frost damage. It also ripens quite late however, so can only be grown in warm to hot climates, and produces tannic, quite acid wine too often marked by a coarse smell of hot berries. To counter these characteristics, most Carignan in the Languedoc-Roussillon, where it has dominated production, is vinified to maximise softness. it is also grown in Provence, although it is now gradually being replaced by more complex and characterful varieties such as Syrah and Grenache. Of all the thousands of acres of vines which have been ripped out in the Midi in an effort to curb Europe's wine surplus, Carignan is by far the major casualty.

Carignan tends to be on low bushes unsuitable for mechanical harvesting.

Carignan is useful for adding intense colour, acidity, and fleshy tannins to the archetypal Southern French blends of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault, but on its own can be disappointing. However, very old vines, in really warm climates, can produce deep coloured, warm, quite rich wine and there have been some creditable examples from California, Maule in Chile and, especially, as Carignano del Sulcis in southern Sardinia. Carignan's origins are Spanish and it is still grown in Costers del Segre, Penedès, Tarragona and Terra Alta. Arguably the most complex wines made from Carignan are from Priorat in the province of Aragon. In Rioja it plays a minor part as Mazuelo and Samsó.