Grenache: A Wine of the World
Grenache is a very popular Spanish wine that is also called Gamacha in Catalan. It is planted everywhere in the world. It is a red wine grape that does bet in hot dry condition so it also does well in the South of France. It is thought to have originated in Spain, probably in the Aragon wine producing region.
It is not a boring wine. It is spicy and berry flavored and has a soft feel in the mouth. It can be more alkaline than most wines and it can be used to tone down more acidic wines such as Syrah, Cinsaut and Carignane. It is low in pigment and is used to temper the taste of harsher wines. It tastes of vanilla and blackberry.
In fact you find Grenache as a component in all kinds of wines. It is often found in the Southern Rhone wines and also in Australian Syrah and Mourvedre (http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Mourvedre/) types of wines. It is also used as for rose in Spain and France. As it is high in sugar it can also be used to make port.
There are also all kinds of monikers to describe various subsets of this type of wine including black, which makes a dark blue and hairy wine which is made from a mutant Grenache grape that is covered with down. There is also a white version of this wine called Grenache blanc. It is sold on its own but it is also blended with many white German wines.
This versatile grape was also grown in Californian vineyards during the prohibition era in the United States. It allowed consumers to make small amounts of the wine in their kitchens at home. It was sometimes crossed with another grape called Petit Bouschet for the purposes of making “bootleg wine.”
Nowadays it is a bulk wine in California. It is has been supplanted by vines for making Merlot (http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Merlot/) for the most part and is not really used for making premium wines from that state.
It is a vintage wine in Australia as it has been gown there in vineyards since 1832. Traditionally the grape was used to make Australian brands of port and other types as fortified wine. Nowadays Australia produces respected varietals with these grapes include Shiraz and Mataro blends.
In France it is found mainly in the Lagudoc Roussilon vineyards and in the Rhone valley where it is used to make many impressive dry red wines. It is the basis of specialty wines such as Gigondas where as many as twelve grapes are included in the blend. The French also use Grenache (http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Grenache/) to make ports that are also sometimes called vins doux naturels. These are the sweet fortified wines from French Catalonia.
This vine is also very hardy and wine growers like it because it does not need trellises. In fact it grows with such vigor that vines often have to be pulled. The berries are of a medium size and are blue-black color. The grapes are plentiful one year and the plant is less fruitful the next so sometimes the wine is expensive. When it does produce it makes as many as sixteen tons of grapes per acre.
It goes by many names including Abundante, Navarro, Red Grenache, Redondal, Alicante, Canonazo, Uvi di Spangan, Elegante, Gamaccho Negro, Gamacha Negra, Tinto, Tentillo, Tocai Rosso, Toldanam, Bois Jaune, Aelante Pggiarelli and Aleante.
The kind of Grenache made with the hairier grapes goes by the names of Gamatxa Pelud, Laddoner Pelud and Gamatica Peluda.
Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in international cuisine and fine wines. For an amazing selection of wine varietals such as Grenache and Mourvedre, please visit http://www.wineaccess.com/.
