Grenache

Grape Vari­ety: Grenache

Geog­ra­phy: Widely planted through­out Europe, espe­cially Spain. Also grown in Alge­ria, Israel, Morocco, the USA and Australia.

Viti­cul­ture: Very tol­er­ant of heat. Thrives well in the hot cli­mate vine­yards of Spain and South­ern France.

Varietal/Blend: At its best blended, espe­cially with Shi­raz. When blended with Tem­pranillo improves many Riojas.

Fla­vor & Char­ac­ter: Ultra ripe, fruity fla­vors, pre­dom­i­nantly straw­berry, cou­pled with a fiery spiciness.

Vini­fi­ca­tion: Often oaked as part of the Rioja mat­u­ra­tion process.

Style: Ranges from good light styles to rich, strong, vel­vety tex­tured wines.

Body, Dry/Sweet: Wide rang­ing from light bod­ied deli­cious, fruity rosés to rich dessert and for­ti­fied wines. Notable for pro­duc­ing warm, full-bodied wines high in alcohol.

Notes: Famous as part of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Rioja. The grape is also known as Gar­nacha in Spain.