Fruity, fruity Grenache

I once worked with someone, only one of whose flaws was a claimed allergy to Grenache. Apart from his being a fool and a knave this had the result of barring him from enjoying some of the most fun and hedonistic wines on the planet. Here we present a range of Grenache based wines of two colours and locations various.

Grenache is a vine that naturally produces grapes with high sugar levels and therefore high potential alcohol levels but often relatively pale colour and lowish acidity. Its wines tend to the oxidative unless handled carefully. It has many useful qualities in a modern world, not the least of which is its drought resistance, which make it ideal for many parts of the new world, the southern Rhone and of course its heartland on the plain in Spain, where in fact it very rarely rains.