Love Pinot Noir for its for its silky elegance? Check out Grenache. Syrah for its spicy power? Ditto. Fan of the recent category of “red blends” filling wine-store shelves? Again, spend some time with Grenache: It’s the backbone of one of the original great red blends, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, whose luscious richness many of those wines try to hint at.
Grown everywhere from southern France to central Spain to coastal California to Australia’s sunlit hills, Grenache is the greatest, most widely planted, yet little-known grape around.