Grenache is a Swiss Military knife wine. Referred to as Garnacha in Spain, the light-bodied grape will get blended into ballet-pink rosés in addition to sturdy reds so iconic they’re referred to solely by their initials, GSM. (The acronym stands for Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre.) Varietal Grenache runs the gamut from crunchy crowd-pleasers to pair with burgers at a cookout, to structured funding items to cellar for years. “Grenache is actually approachable,” says Leigh Ervine, the wine director for All Collectively Now in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village. Whether or not you’re searching for “a gateway grape to Pinots and larger, structured reds,” she says, or one thing brilliant and refreshing to sip as temperatures begin to cool, globe-trotting Grenache has you coated.
A Tribute to Grace, Rosé of Grenache 2024
“It has plenty of guava, stone fruit, and cotton sweet flavors, nevertheless it doesn’t drink candy,” Ervine says of this limited-production rosé produced from biodynamically farmed Grenache from California’s Central Coast. As a substitute, it’s brilliant and crisp—the right factor to open whereas snacking on a cheese board, tinned fish, or crusty sourdough. A mainstay at All Collectively Now, “it’s the longest-standing by-the-glass pour on the store,” says Ervine. “And it’s my go-to wine in summer season, winter, fall, or any time in any respect.” $25.99, citywinemerchant.com
Emme Wines, ‘We Contact in Silhouette’ 2023
This elegant Grenache options hand-harvested, organically cultivated grapes from Shake Ridge, an esteemed winery in California’s Amador County that each Ervine and Emme winemaker Rosalind Reynolds describe as “magical.” Spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts, the unfined wine is food-friendly and easy-drinking, particularly with a lightweight chill. “It has actually lovely aromatics and a robust tannic spine, so you possibly can age it, too,” Ervine says. $41.99, thirstmerchants.com
Worlds Aside, ‘Blewitt Springs’ Grenache 2022
From a cool nook of South Australia’s McLaren Vale comes this dynamically textured purple wine with “good acid and focus of taste,” says Ervine. Brilliant and zippy, it has cherry and just-picked raspberry flavors alongside nuanced floral and herbaceous notes. “It’s a very enjoyable displaying of Grenache from an iconic, century-old website in Australia,” Ervine says. The entire-cluster fermentation “provides it a pleasant crunchiness whereas sustaining freshness.” $42.99, plummarket.com
Whitcraft Vineyard, Stolpman Winery Grenache 2022
Grapes for this fragrant cool-climate wine are hand-picked and -sorted in Santa Barbara’s Ballard Canyon. Afterward, winemaker Drake Whitcraft crushes them by foot to jumpstart carbonic maceration. It’s the other of business winemaking, Ervine says. “The one issues that activate on the vineyard are his laptop computer and the kegorator.” The outcomes are elegantly structured, with savory herbs, orange rind, and lavender aromas adopted by tart cranberry, cherry, and saline flavors with a grippy end. $54, leonandsonwine.com
Château Rayas 2008
Winemakers in France’s Rhône Valley can mix as much as 13 grapes into their esteemed Chateauneuf-du-Pape. However Château Rayas, one of many area’s most famed producers, creates purple bottlings made solely or largely from Grenache. The 2008 is uncommon and superbly expressive, says Ervine; All Collectively Now has “precisely one bottle, hiding within the again.” Lighter than a typical Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the wine “has licorice and purple fruit, plus savoriness and spiciness,” she says. Whereas it’s an funding piece, Ervine believes it’s definitely worth the splurge. “This can be a particular bottle.” $1,399, cellaraiders.com
