GRENACHE is the word on the vine this month

A versatile grape that can make juicy reds and sweet fortified wines, but for the summer, it’s all about the fruity, elegant rosé

THE GRAPE

With a long ripening process – it’s among the last to be harvested – grenache or garnacha as it’s also known, is well suited to the hot dry climates of the Mediterranean. Spain is thought to be its original home, from where it spread in the time of the Aragon kingdom. These hardy, thin-skinned berries are packed full of sugar, delivering high levels of alcohol.

THE TASTE

Its berry flavours give it versatility, which is why it forms the base for wines as diverse as rich-raspberry flavoured Châteauneufdu-Pape right through to strawberried rosés. There are also herby flavours of thyme, white pepper spiciness and other fruits such as black cherry and orange.

THE PAIRINGS

Those gentle herbs and spice coupled with red-berry fruits make it ideal for barbecued meats and vegetable skewers, or chorizo paired with chicken in salads. It can work well with more delicately flavoured Asian dishes or fruit-jewelled north African tagines, too. And that’s before you get to the colour mutation, grenache blanc.

THE VINES

So widely planted you’ll find it everywhere, it was among the first to find its way to Australia in the 18th century. Home is Mediterranean Spain, Languedoc-Roussillon and the Rhône Valley in France, and Sardinia, but cooler-climate lighter, spicier grenache is emerging from regions such as Sierra de Gredos, Madrid.

THE BOTTLES

Ben McVeigh, who heads up the bar and bottle shop at Peckham Cellars, picks his four favourite grenaches

2019 CÔTES DE PROVENCE ROSÉ, DOMAINE PINCHINAT, POURRIÈRES, FRANCE,

£15.49 winelibrary.co.uk A grenache/cinsault blend that puts the main power brands to shame at a very attractive price. Pretty, elegant and certified organic.

2020 BANDOL ROSÉ, DOMAINE TEMPIER, LE CASTELLET, FRANCE, £28.99,

noblegrape.co.uk A classic summer wine from this venerable estate. A grenache/ cinsault combination that's as fine a rosé as you could wish for.

2019 RIOJA ROSADO, BODEGAS MUGA, LA RIOJA, SPAIN,

£9.99, waitrose.com Muga is a classic bodega producing brilliant quality at accessible prices. Its grenache rosado is more structured than a typical Provence rosé: dry, with notes of red apples and cranberries. it’s perfect for an alfresco lunch.

AND IF YOU WANT TO SPLASH OUT… 2010 RIOJA ROSADO GRAN RESERVA, R LÓPEZ DE HEREDIA VIÑA TONDONIA, LA RIOJA, SPAIN, £59.95,

vinovero.co.uk Perhaps the world’s greatest rosé - a complex, multi-faceted and mouth-watering stunner that will change your view on rosé forever.