Grenache Blanc
Encyclopedia
Grenache blanc is a variety of white wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

 grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

 that is related to the red grape Grenache
Grenache
Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, the south of France, and California's San Joaquin Valley. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively...

. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol and low acidity, with citrus and or herbaceous notes. Its vigor can lead to overproduction and flabbiness. However, if yield
Yield (wine)
In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...

s are controlled, it can contribute flavor and length to blends, particularly with Roussanne
Roussanne
Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage AOC, Hermitage AOC and Saint-Joseph AOC...

. Since the 1980s, it has been the fifth most widely planted white wine grape in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 after Ugni blanc, Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

, Semillon
Sémillon
Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia.-History:The origin of the Sémillon grape is hard to determine. It is known that it first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent...

 and Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...

.

History

Grenache blanc is thought to have originated as a mutation of the red version of Grenache in Spain. It then spread across the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

 to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, finding a second home in the Rhône
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...

.

Wine regions

Grenache blanc is an important variety in the French wine
French wine
French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...

 region of the Rhône Valley, often blended with Roussanne in wines and even being included in some red wines. It is a major component in the white wines of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône AOC
Côtes du Rhône AOC
Côtes du Rhône is a wine-growing Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for the Rhône wine region of France, which may be used throughout the region, also in those areas which are covered by other AOCs...

s. Up to 10% Grenache blanc is permitted to be included in the red wines of the Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC
Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC
Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages is a French wine Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée in the southern Rhône wine region of France. It is made up from a list of villages around the region which supposedly produces a high quality of wine. It is above the more generic Côtes-du-Rhône AOC but below appellations...

. In the Rivesaltes AOC
Rivesaltes AOC
Rivesaltes is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for naturally sweet, fortified wines made in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region of France. They are similar to Muscat de Rivesaltes AOC wines, except the grape varieties are not restricted to Muscat...

, the grape is used as a blending component in some of the regions vin doux naturel wines. Nearly half of all Grenache blanc plantings in France are located in the Roussillon
Languedoc wine
Languedoc - Roussillon wine, including the vin de pays labeled Vin de Pays d'Oc, is produced in southern France. While "Languedoc" can refer to a specific historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century has primarily referred to the northern part of the...

 region where the grape is often blended with Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier
Viognier
Viognier is a white wine grape. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhone valley.-History:The origin of the Viognier grape is unknown. Viognier is presumed to be an ancient grape, possibly originating in Dalmatia and then brought to Rhône by the Romans. One legend...

 and Rolle
Rolle
Rolle is a municipality in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Rolle until 2006, when it became part of the district of Nyon. It is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Geneva between Nyon and Lausanne...

. In the upper Agly Valley, varietal terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...

driven examples are starting to be produced. In white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenache blanc provides fruitiness and fatness to a blend that often includes Roussanne, Picpoul, Bourboulenc
Bourboulenc
Bourboulenc is a white wine grape variety primarily grown in southern France. The variety is found in the regions Southern Rhône, Provence and Languedoc....

 and Clairette
Clairette
-People:*Clairette , a French-Canadian actress and singer-Wines:*Clairette de Die AOC, a French sparkling wine appellation*Clairette blanche, a white grape variety* Clairette Ronde, synonym for the grape variety Trebbiano...

.

Other old world regions

In Spain
Spanish wine
Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest...

 it is mostly found in the Spanish wine regions along the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

, particularly in Navarra
Navarra (DO)
Navarra is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines that extends over practically the entire southern half of the autonomous community of Navarre...

 and the Terra Alta
Terra Alta
Terra Alta is a sparsely populated inland comarca in Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Gandesa. It is also known as Castellania, a name dating back to its medieval status as a fiefdom held by the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem under the Crown of Aragon.- Municipalities...

 region in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

. It is also widely planted in the Priorat
Priorat (DOQ)
Priorat is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Calificada for wines produced in the Priorat county to the south-west of Catalonia...

, Alella
Alella (DO)
Alella is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines produced in Maresme county in the Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia, located on the Mediterranean coast, 15 km to the north of the city of Barcelona....

 and Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

. It is permitted in the white wines of Rioja
Rioja (wine)
Rioja is a wine, with Denominación de Origen Calificada named after La Rioja, in Spain. Rioja is made from grapes grown not only in the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, but also in parts of Navarre and the Basque province of Álava. Rioja is further subdivided into three zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja...

 but is not widely used due to the tendency of the must
Must
Must is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...

 to oxidize easily.

In Australia the variety known as "White Grenache" was identified by ampelographer Paul Truel as Biancone in 1976.

Winemaking

Grenache blanc responds best to low fermentation
Fermentation (wine)
The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...

 temperatures which produces a fresh, dill
Dill
Dill is a perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens C.B.Clarke.-Growth:...

 scented wine in its youth. The grape is fairly flexible in winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

 and can be exposed to malolactic fermentation
Malolactic fermentation
Malolactic fermentation is a process in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation tends to create a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. It has been said that malic acid tastes of green apples...

, extended skin maceration
Maceration (wine)
Maceration is the winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape— tannins, coloring agents and flavor compounds— are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. Maceration is the process by which the red wine receives its red color, since 99% of all grape juice is...

, lees
Lees (fermentation)
Lees refers to deposits of dead yeast or residual yeast and other particles that precipitate, or are carried by the action of "fining", to the bottom of a vat of wine after fermentation and ageing. The yeast deposits in beer brewing are known as trub...

 stirring as well as oak aging. In addition to being blended with Roussanne, Grenache blanc is sometimes blended with Muscat and made in a varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

 style.

In the United States the varietal Garnacha Blanca from Terra Alta is used in the production of the wine http://www.savorian.com/bogatell.

Synonyms

Alicante Blanca, Belan, Feher Grenache, Garnacha Blanca (Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

), Garnatxa Blanca (Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

), Rool Grenache, Silla Blanc, Sillina lanc and White Grenache.
Plain 'Grenache' or 'Garnacha' almost always refers to the red variety of Grenache.
Available at: [Accessed January 31, 2011]
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