The Growth of Cool-Climate Grenache
Wine Enthusiast May 2023
Inky in the glass, intensely aromatic on the nose and tannic and structured on the palate. These are not the usual hallmarks of Grenache. The grape, originally from Spain and widely planted in France’s Rhône Valley, is known more for medium-to-lighter-bodied expressions of red fruit and baking spice, best consumed quickly. But recently, what you can expect from a bottle is changing.
These unexpected qualities are exhibited by a growing number of Grenache bottlings from cool-climate vineyards on California’s Central Coast. There, chilly temperatures, foggy mornings and windy afternoons starve the grape vines of the sunshine they crave, forcing grapes to ripen extremely late in the harvest season. That extended growing period, and the specialized farming strategies required to get the grapes that far, create a version of Grenache that these vintners believe is unlike anywhere in the world.
The meticulous management techniques include shading the grapes from the sun to block bleaching, which is a common problem for Grenache. Additionally, winemakers must frequently drop otherwise healthy clusters to ensure that the remaining fruit reaches the sugar levels required for red wine.
Unlike Syrah, which becomes quite peppery and floral in these cooler climates, the Grenache gains body and structure. “We usually end the tasting flight with the Grenache,” says Brianne Engles, winemaker at Chamisal Vineyard in Edna Valley in San Luis Obispo County, of how Chamisal’s darkest bottling is presented to consumers.
Spanish Springs Vineyard sits just five miles from the shores of Pismo Beach in the SLO Coast appellation. Vineyard Manager, Jim McGarry, sells the fruit from his 4.5 acres of Grenache to more than a half-dozen brands, including Claiborne & Churchill, Levo, Aaron and Rhônedonnée, and wants to plant more. He finds that the climate helps the typically overabundant variety self-regulate, so he doesn’t do much thinning of the crop.
“Grenache can get big, but in this site, it just doesn’t,” says McGarry, who is also planting some at a new vineyard nearby called Cross Creek. “Spanish Springs is showing us that we can make some awesome Grenache from here.”
More cool-climate Grenache is on the way. These grapes routinely sell out faster than Pinot Noir, so growers are actively adding acreage each year. But why isn’t more of the region making Grenache like this?
“It is a different beast,” says Engles. “It is a struggle to get it ripe almost every year. We’re often picking this around Halloween, and there have been years when we had to wait ‘til November to bring it in.”
With Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and other grapes coming in more toward September, Engles says, “it’s almost like having two harvests.”
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