Grape Varieties: Grenache

Grenache is a red grape variety that is widespread all over the world and occupies a large number of vineyards. The vine is now in the entire Mediterranean region, for example in Australia, Israel, Argentina, the USA, native to Chile and South Africa. However, it is most common in France and Spain. The Spanish winegrowers don’t call the vine Grenache, but Garnacha. Because of its wide distribution, there are also numerous other synonyms for the same grape variety, including Cannonau in Sardinia, where it is the most important red grape variety. Grenache or Garnacha originally comes from Spanish regions. It is believed that the variety originated in the Middle Ages in the once powerful kingdom of Aragon in northern Spain, which also included parts of southern France, southern Italy and Sicily.

White counterpart

In France, the name of the red grape variety is a bit more precise than here: there it is called Grenache Noire. Because there is also a white variety called Grenache Blanc or Garnacha Blanca. The red grape variety Grenache is rarely developed as a single wine. It is usually processed into cuvées, such as in the famous Rioja wines or in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the Rhône. The reason for this is usually that wines from Grenache usually have little tannin and color, but are extremely fruity. That is why they are often blended with darker tannins, such as Tempranillo or Shiraz .

Grenache: pure fruit

Grenache wines are particularly impressive on the palate due to their fruitiness and relatively high alcohol content. Although they are so rich in alcohol, the wines are still soft. Characteristic flavors of the Grenache grape variety are cherry, blackberry, blueberry and pomegranate, with some high quality wines also accompanied by black olives, coffee, honey, leather, pepper or roasted nuts. The Grenache red wine is rather light in color, which is why winemakers like to process it into rosé wine.