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Garnacha – Weeknight Winner

March 4th, 2010

A friend brought along a bottle of Garnacha de le Fuego for some sipping the other night.  Full of fruit, medium bodied and lacking any severe tannins, this wine was immensely drinkable.

Garnacha is the same as the grenache grape of France.  It is a grape that thrives in hot climates and is typically the base grape of blended reds like Chateauneuf du Pape and Cotes du Rhone.  These wines are bigger, bolder reds made from a blends of grapes that makes them more complex (and more expensive).  I loves me some Chateauneuf du Pape but until I hit the lottery, it will remain a special occasion wine.

The first garnacha I ever sampled was at Duckfat in Portland and it was easy to surmise that garnacha is a very food-friendly wine.  Priced between $6 – $8/bottle, this wine could easily become a house sip.  One might say that garnacha is the red cousin of Vinho Verde.

So if dinner happens to be burgers, a hearty bean soup or even simple, roasted chicken, this wine would work quite nicely.

Cheers.

 

Entry Filed under: Libations