TIME TO APPRECIATE THE GRENACHE GRAPE
Two months working and living at home can get monotonous. Fridays look like Wednesdays, and Saturdays and Sundays look like weekdays and, well, you get the picture.
We are all going to have to work harder to take on the enemy — boredom. Wine can help, but not in the way you are thinking.
Today we suggest you read, investigate, taste, and generally embrace the Grenache grape, taking a detour from some of your more familiar grape friends, be they Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Make it a study week or two, with the goal of lifelong lessons that will help you connect with an underappreciated grape that is growing in interest around the world.
It is hard to believe that Grenache is the world’s seventh-most widely planted grape, covering some 168,000 hectares. The challenge for consumers is recognizing when they are drinking it, because solo versions of the wine are often camouflaged by appellations or fantasy names.
It also goes by numerous synonyms including Garnacha, Garnaxta, Alicante, Nieddu, Cannonau, Lladoner and Uva di Spagna. That said, you are just as likely to encounter Grenache dominating a red blend, as you will in your favourite French rosé.
Grenache is a grape that does far better in blind tastings than it does when poured in the open — think The Voice versus American Idol. In a wine world infatuated by cool climates and extreme terroirs where grapes barely cling to life in the vineyard, Grenache lives a different experience.
It thrives in warm sites. It often has less colour, more alcohol, and tends to brown or oxidize earlier in the bottle — and hence in the glass — than other “serious” reds. On the other hand, it can be full of amazing black raspberry fruit aromas and flavours, it is low in tannins, and it seldom sees much new oak. These critical factors point to smooth textures and an overtly friendly character in the glass.
Grenache Noir is the principal component in almost every southern Rhône red blend, and it is likely best known as the base grape found in most Châteauneuf du Pape, Cotes du Rhône, and Gigondas. Even the royalty bestowed by the French appellation system is not enough to give the wind- and heat-resistant grape serious standing in the wine community.
In Spain, Grenache is Garnacha and an essential player in Catalonia. In Priorat, where famed wine grower Alvaro Palacios is making waves, Garnacha was on the decline until the mid-1990s. Palacios has become a fanatic of the juicy red, converting and planting bush vine Garnacha on the schist of Priorat in search of wines brimming with finesse and elegance. His L’ermita is the ultimate ethereal expression of the variety, and one of Spain’s most exceptional wines.
Bush vines are no strangers to the Australians, where extensive Grenache plantings have yielded some terrific bottles, albeit a bit more boisterous than its European counterparts.
California’s central coast Rhone Rangers have dabbled with Grenache for several decades, although few pure varietal Grenache have made their way to the markets. In Italy, more specifically the island of Sardinia, Grenache is known as Cannonau. Some have suggested it was the Italian Cannonau that was exported to Spain and France after its occupation of Sardinia.
Locally, Okanagan producers are probing Grenache, and it seems as if it could be a fit in the
south Okanagan. The Okanagan versus Priorat or Barossa may seem absurd, but when you are moved by a voice (taste) instead of looks and mannerisms (labels), you may just find your place among a sea of idols.
Our weekend picks offer a broad swath of Grenache for your next study session.