Berger: Don’t ignore grenache!

Two decades ago, the most popular wine was syrah. Seemed like everyone was making at least one of them.

At a San Francisco trade/public wine tasting then featuring Rhône Valley grapes, I had a mission: To determine what other grapes besides syrah were being used in these wines.

I felt at the time, and still do, that on its own, syrah wasn’t very exciting when grown in too warm a region. So I stopped at every table at which a syrah or Rhône blend was being offered and asked the person behind the table if he or she was using grenache in addition to syrah.

There was a reason for this: I firmly believed (and still do) that grenache is a more interesting grape variety than is syrah. This isn’t to disparage such great Australian red wines as the estimable Grange as well as dozens of others. But over decades of tasting, I have found that syrah is usually best with a small amount of grenache added.

In fact, the more the better. The best syrah wines have the most grenache you can legally use (25% by law).

Of course, there are caveats here. For one thing, poor quality grenache will not help make a better syrah, just as poor quality syrah will wipe out most of the greatness of even top-quality grenache.

Moreover, grenache isn’t easy to grow consistently. It’s a prolific grape that wants to produce large crops, but huge crops often lead to diffuse wine flavors. Moreover, high-tonnage grenache doesn’t have a lot of color, which is one reason that it can make an attractive pink wine.

With its lovely wild cherry, floral aroma, it can make a charming pale pink wine for summer sipping.

That day 20 years ago, when I inquired about grenache, I thought I would get some quizzical looks. Instead what I heard as an answer to my query about using grenache in syrah was a surprise.

Almost everyone said things like, “We don’t use much grenache - but if you know where I can get any, call me.”

It was clear that winemakers were thrilled with the variety, but at the time, there were barely 4,000 acres planted in California. And most of it was spoken for.

Today California has fewer than 6,000 acres of the variety and I suspect one reason that growers are reluctant to plant it is that it is not a grape that would lead to a varietal wine using that name, and thus cannot command a high price.

Yet on its own, as a varietal wine, grenache can be startlingly fine, as evidenced by such superb grenaches as those from Beckmen (Santa Ynez Valley), Unti and Quivira (both Dry Creek Valley), Dusted Valley (Columbia Valley), Cayuse (Walla Walla Valley), and Bonny Doon.

Worldwide grenache is also a winner, contributing to many Spanish Rioja blends (there it’s called Garnacha) and making some stellar wines on its own - such as bargain-priced Tres Picos, a great value from Moncayo.

And Australia makes some superb grenache wines such as Yulumba, Kilikanoon, d’Arenberg, Yangarra, Clarendon Hills, Pirramimma, and many others.

Moreover, in the Rhône Valley, the grape is the main contributor to most Chateauneuf-du-Pape blends, which include wines like Gigondas, Vacqueyras, and others.

Don’t ignore grenache. It can be a sleeper and usually offers taste treats unavailable from many other so-called nobler varieties.

Wine of the Week: 2012 Perrin Vacqueras, Les Christins ($28) - Once a part of the modest Côtes-du-Rhône, this district was elevated in status 25 years ago to full appellation status partly because of its use of 50% grenache and other heavier red grapes to make a hefty blend. There is a leathery-earthy aroma here with substantial fruit and depth, and a structure that will make it even better in 3-6 more years. Imported by Vineyard Brands.

Sonoma County resident Dan Berger publishes “Vintage Experiences,” a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at winenut@gmail.com.