Good Times With Grenache

As the dog days of summer turn slowly to autumn, I poked around in the dusty corners of the wine cellar to find a bottle to observe the changing of the seasons. Remembering that this September is also the 15th annual International Grenache Day, I found a few examples of this varietal from different countries and cracked them open with my regular tippling posse.
For those not familiar with this varietal, Grenache is a bit of an unsung hero in the world of wine. The true origins of this ancient grape varietal are believed to be from the medieval Kingdom of Aragon, now part of modern-day Spain. In its native homeland of northern Spain, the grape is referred to as Garnacha, but the rest of the world uses the French spelling of Grenache.
Oddly, even the Spanish-speaking New World wine countries like Argentina tend to use the French spelling of Grenache, likely because international consumers are more familiar with that spelling.
The grape varietal spread throughout the many kingdoms of Europe, and thrived particularly well in the Rhône Valley of France.
While the Grenache grape is well known to winemakers, it appears most often as part of a blended wine, so it is not always obvious to the consumer that they have Grenache in their glass.
The unobtrusive nature of Grenache is compounded by the tendency of old world wine producers like France to label their bottles with the region or location the wine was produced in, rather than the type of grape in the bottle.
For example, the famed Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine region in France has up to 80% Grenache in their wines, but you would never know it from looking at the label.
When used for blending, Grenache can add body and alcohol content to light bodied wines. This makes for a fairly easy-drinking wine, and not as intimidating to novice wine drinkers as a highly tannic Cab Sauv.
The high sugar content and low amount of tannins make for a fairly dull wine if taken alone, but those same attributes make Grenache attractive for producing fortified or port-styled wines with added grape brandy.
The wine is particularly fruit-forward, with notes of rich raspberry while the wine is young, maturing into a spicier black currant and fig flavor as the wine ages.
Unfortunately, Grenache does not age as well as other wines, as it tends to oxidise in the bottle. So, if you do put a bottle in your cellar, take it out and drink it within a few years.
Outside of Spain and France, Grenache has found great success in California and Australia, both of which have the hot and dry climates preferred by the grape.