Interesting read
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Interesting info, thanks for sharing.
I do disagree with the conclusion of the writer, though. We use terms like “Rhône varieties” and “”Rhône blend” as a convenient shorthand. Our conversation and TNs aren’t a doctoral dissertation. Calling Grenache a Sardinian variety doesn’t really serve any purpose other than trying to act like an eccentric know-it-all.
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For many of us, acting like an eccentric know-it-all is its own reward.
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And a major reason why normal people view wine geeks as insufferable.
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besides, it’s obvious that grape varieties were seeded by asteroids
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There are so many wonderful things about the term ‘Rhône Varietal’.
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Nobody outside of the winerati knows what this means. Secret codes are fun!
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Using this and related terms among the unwashed and uncellared is already a really easy way to demonstrate our amazing wine knowledge.
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Since nobody outside of the in-the-know actually likes Rhône varietals, this hard to understand term helps us obfuscate our uncoolness and bad taste.
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The circumflex.
Changing to Sardinian Origin Varietals might get us more dates, but since most Americans think Sardinia is a small town in Ohio, it will just lead to even more confusion. Hmm, maybe not a bad thing!
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At least he wrote “varieties” and not “varietals.” :newhere:
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My dad refers to red grenache as “grenache nor” (by that, I mean using that pronunciation). And I am a good son and don’t correct him.
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But it’s not news that they were never native to France. Most people know that they came from Spain. The Sardinians have claimed that Garnacha came from their because they found some old references, but the most likely explanation is that it was brought when the kingdom of Aragon ruled most of those regions - including what is now south France, Sicily, and Sardinia. The Sardinians also claim that Bovale di Spagna is not Cariñena, but in fact it is just another clone. It was planted all over after phylloxera because it doesn’t require a lot of water and produces well in hot places. That’s why it was planted in Priorat as well, although many of those vines were later abandoned.
The Spanish brought their grapes wherever they went, bringing Listan Negro to the new world where it was known as the Mission grape. That’s no longer found in Spain so much as the Canary Islands.
But the Romans brought grapes around, the Serbs did, and pretty much every conquering country or tribe did. So since France had fifty years after WW2 to establish themselves as the pre-eminent wine country, and since they do a pretty good job with some of those grapes, calling them Rhone varieties is OK. Even though until recently, and I think it is still the case, Spain had more Garnacha planted than the rest of the world combined, and that included the S. Rhone and Australia.
Your dad is on the right track though. There are mutations just like in the Pinot family. There is Garnacha Blanca as well as a gris or gray version that I haven’t seen in Spain but have seen in France, Garnacha Peluda, which has “hairy” leaves, and Garnacha tintorera, AKA Alicante Bouschet, which has red flesh as well as red skin but is actually a child of Garnacha, not a type.
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Chris,
Historically in CA, there was a clone just called Grenache and it produced larger clusters with larger and lighter colored berries.
When Tablas got cuttings from Beaucastel and they got the clone cleared by Foundation Plant Sevices, it was given the name Grenache Noir to separate it from the other clone. (They may not have been the first to do this, but as Rhônes took off here in the 90s and 00s, a lot of cuttings came via Tablas and the nurseries they supplied their clones to).
Cheers
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Thank Goodness, this is gold! Entry-level wine enthusiasts were becoming much too knowledgable and difficult to tell from us true wine aficionados. We can use this info to slap them down and put them in their place at cocktail parties!
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It’s good to have something new to use instead of having to list off how we are on the SQN, Macdonald and Screaming Eagle mailing lists.
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Does this mean that we have to give Randall, Bob, et al. “Sardinian Sheriffs” badges?
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Pretty sure I was insufferable before I got into wine. Might as well geek out a bit too!
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No.
Okay, but at least heed the words of The First Lady of Rock and Roll and
Was that the B-side to Love is a Battlefield?
That’s the look of a man that bought Home Depot and Burgundy early on and held them.