GRENACHE

Grenache photo courtesy Tablas Creek Vineyard

Most of the Rhone grape varieties made their way to the United States, especially California, over a century ago. Grapes like Grenache, Carignane and Mourvedre provided the stuffing for generic red table wine blends for decades, rarely getting a mention on the labels. But over the past ten years or so, a few intrepid Rhone Ranger members (and other unenlightened, non-member wineries), started concentrating their winemaking efforts on some of these lesser-known Rhone reds. In California, the wine can be found bottled individually, but is more often found in Rhone blends that also include Syrah and / or Mourvedre.

The world’s second-most widely planted red grape, Grenache sprawls across France and Spain. Grenache’s reputation ranges from the sublime (the vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape are three-quarters Grenache) to the mundane (a basic Vin de Pays from Languedoc is probably also based on Grenache). It can be used to make friendly, undemanding wines in nearly any warm, dry climate, but the quality of Grenache wines soars when it’s dry-farmed and severely pruned to concentrate its color and flavors. Early-budding and late-ripening, Grenache has a tendency toward high sugar / alcohol levels, if not planted in the right areas or cropped back. It needs sandy, de-vigorated soil where it can produce exquisite, luscious wines. Grenache producers in Australia, especially in the Barossa Valley, are once again taking Grenache seriously.

In California, Grenache has been around in blends of all kinds since the 1850s, with about 8,500 acres currently planted. Rhone Ranger members producing Grenache include Beckman, Bonny Doon, Eaglepoint, McDowell Valley, Qupe, and Tablas Creek.