Cabernet Franc is a red wine grape grown in the Bordeaux region of France. It is third in amount of plantings after Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and tends to be in between those two grapes in terms of tannin levels. Cabernet Franc has somewhat of a herbaceous or vegetive quality to it and is used to add complexity to Bordeaux blends. It is also vinified into a varietal wine in New World wine regions such as California and Ontario.
DNA analysis has proven Cabernet Franc to be, along with Sauvignon Blanc, one of the genetic parents of Cabernet Sauvignon.