Show Notes
Episode 122: WTF is White Grenache? 00:00
Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair!
Ok, a quick orientation for those of you who may be new to the podcast - in each episode we learn about, taste and give our honest review of two to three wines that are reasonably priced - meaning under $20 each - and should be easy for you to find. And our podcast is made for people who want to learn more about wine, find new wines to enjoy, and just want someone to talk about wine in a fun way that regular people can understand. So, if that sounds like you, you are in the right place! And we are proud to say that we are recommended by the editors of Decanter Magazine who call us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining
You may have noticed a little change in our orientation blurb, Carmela. Yes, I said 2 to 3 wines that we will taste and review rather than just 3 wines, and there are a few reasons for that. First, for some episodes, like these WTF episodes, I am not sure there is extra value in us doing 3 wines rather than 2. For some episodes, like the Costco episodes, I do think it makes sense because we are trying to compare the Kirkland wines to other wines and I think you need more than one comparison.
But if we are just learning about a wine, I am thinking that 2 wines may be just as useful to do as 3. It will also shorten the episodes a bit which I think may be a good thing, and, I always feel a little bad at the end of the weekend, because we usually record our shows on Fridays, because we usually don’t finish all three of the wines we open that we taste and review in the show, and so it seems a little wasteful.
That being said, we want to hear from you, faithful listeners. If, after you listen to this episode, you’re like, wait, I think you need to go back to tasting three wines, then please let us know. Just email us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com or go to our site and let us know what you think. And if you like it with one fewer wine, let us know that, too, because we want to be making content that you like!
But every once in a while it’s probably good to try some new stuff to keep things fresh. Am I right?!?
Ok, back to the real topic which is WTF is White Grenache, also known as Garnatxa Blanca in Catalan or Garnacha Blanca in Spanish or Grenache Blanc in French. And, yes, they do make Grenache in white, which I think most people either don’t know or have never tried. I know we have never tried it!
Now, you may be asking why, at this point in our lives, Carmela, are we learning about Garnatxa Blanca? Well, first of all, we are so close to our trip to Spain, and so this is the last of our Spanish extravaganza series of episodes where we are focusing on Spanish wines so we know what to drink when we are in Barcelona. And, second, you and I both love white wine, especially you, so I wanted to see if we could find one more white wine that comes from the Catalonia area so that we have one more wine we can be familiar with when we travel. (BTW, I did want to call out that because we are traveling, for the next couple of weeks we will be releasing an interview with Jennie Murphy and a minisode, so just a little programming heads-up for you all. I love the interviews because we learn so much from the winemakers we get to talk to)
We’ll do a bit of a deeper dive into what exactly White Grenache is in a second, but I will just mention that Barcelona is in the Catalonia area of Spain, and they make a ton of wine in Catalonia, and a lot of that wine is Grenache-based wines. For instance, the wine we did a few weeks ago called Priorat is a red Grenache-based wine.
The area of Catalonia where they make a lot of White Grenache is called Terra Alta - which means high ground or high earth. In fact, Terra Alta makes 30% of the White Grenache in the world and 90% of the White Grenache grown in Catalonia. And Terra Alta is one of seven D.O.s or Designations of Origin in the Catalonia area of Spain.
Terra Alta is a tiny, remote area of Catalonia - there are twelve towns in the area with a combined population of just 12,000 people. This is said to be a very Mediterranean area, heavily agricultural, where they grow olives and almonds, but mostly grapes for wine.
In the town of Gandesa in Terra Alta, there is a very famous building, called the Gandesa Cooperative, which was designed by César Martinell who was a disciple of the famous architect Gaudi, and so this building in this little town, which they call a cathedral of wine, is a modernist masterpiece. Which is kind of amazing. They don’t make wine in the building anymore, but the town still operates in a similar cooperative fashion where 150 partners come together to share their grapes and make wine.
That is a bit of a tangent, but I figured, first, White Grenache would be a fun wine to learn about, second, I expect to run into this wine when we are in Barcelona, and third, as is the case with all of our WTF episodes and a core part of our podcast, we love to learn about wine because learning about wine helps us to understand the culture, geography, cuisine, and people of an area.
So, we are going to learn more about White Grenache in a couple of minutes, and we have two Garnatxa Blanca wines to taste and review today . . .
But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.
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And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast. This week, we want you to tell anyone you know who is a white wine fan, but always drinks the same damn white wine because they need to change it up a bit, especially if they keep drinking stupid Chardonnay, and this episode will help them to do so.
ARTICLES and LINKS
Topic: WTF is White Grenache / WTF is Garnatxa Blanca? 11:19
Alright, so let’s learn a little bit about just what the F this White Grenache thing is all about!
First, as I mentioned earlier, 30% of the White Grenache in the world comes from the area of Terra Alta in Catalonia, so suffice it to say, this is not a wine you are likely to run into on the daily.
The first thing you may ask is - is it related to red Grenache. And the answer is yes. Or Si in Spanish. White Grenache is mostly found in the Rhône area of France, which is close to Spain, and it is also found in Spain. According to Wikipedia, which is never wrong, by the way, it is a high alcohol, big bodied, and low acid wine with citrus and herb notes. So . . . it may not be exactly what we generally have when we drink white wines because you and I tend to gravitate toward more acidic wines. But, it may be a great wine for the Chardonnay lovers out there because it sounds like it has many of the same characteristics in terms of body and acidity. And, it is often oaked as well, so that’s another reason why Chardonnay fans may like it.
The grape is said to be a mutation of red Grenache that originated in Spain and then found its way into France. And it is actually a fairly popular wine grape in France where it is the fifth most widely planted white wine grape.
In France, it is a key part of white wine blends and even can be found in some red wine blends. For example, it is often blended with Roussanne wines, and it is also an important part of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône white wine blends. It is also often made into a sweet wine, just as an FYI.
For our purposes, though, we are focusing on the single varietal of White Grenache, which is becoming more and more popular.
This is a grape that is described as vigorous, meaning that it grows well in difficult areas. It is also supposed to make the best wine when the grape yields are low, so often the farmers will cut the plants back to make a more acidic and less sugary wine. It also needs heat to ripen well, which is why it is found in the South of France and Spain.
It is said to be somewhat similar to Viognier and Marsanne, and in fact one of our wines today is blended with a small amount of Viognier. And it is also a wine that should be drunk young and served cold, as is the case with a lot of white wines.
I will also say as I was researching about this wine, and you can find links to the articles I looked at in our show notes if you go to this episode on our website and scroll down, that there are a ton of different flavor characteristics this wine is described as having - from brioche to licorice to dill to citrus to pear to peach, so I am really interested in seeing what this wine is all about!
So, on that note, I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?
ARTICLES and LINKS
White Grenache Wines We Chose for This Episode 16:20
As usual, the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $20, and they should be relatively easy to find because I bought them all on wine.com. Now, again, you are most likely to find White Grenache as a blending grape in French wines, so finding the single varietal wine may be a bit tricky, but if you go to a good sized wine shop or a store that specializes in Spanish wines, you will be able to find it. And there are wineries here in the US that are starting to make White Grenache as well.
Now, again, we are only tasting and reviewing two wines today rather than three, and so we want to know if you like that approach or not, so let us know.
The first wine we are going to drink is called Celler Xavier Clua Terra Alta El Sola d'en Pol Blanco and this one is actually a bit of a blend as well as a mouthful to say. It is 90% Garnatxa Blanca, 10% Viognier.
The winemaker is said to use sustainable farming, use indigenous yeast, and ferments the wine in stainless steel - so I don’t believe there is any oak on this wine. One of the sources I found online said that this is a small family winery in Terra Alta who have been making wines for four generations.
They say that the grapes are carefully selected by hand in small boxes, which is something we have heard a bit more recently. I think the importance of small boxes it is that they are treating the grapes gently rather than throwing them in large boxes. They say they gently destem the grapes, too, and crush and macerate the two grapes used in the blend separately. They also say they limit the production per vine, which is what is suggested for making a better wine for this grape.
So this will be interesting because it may be a more acidic wine than I have been expecting.
The second wine we are going to drink is called Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca, and we won’t hold it against them, but James Suckling gave the wine a 90. Which is what he gives every wine.
I have seen some reviews of the wine that call it a very good value, so we’ll stay positive! In fact on the wine reviewer Jancis Robinson’s website they have a whole article about this wine, and they called it an “unadulterated pleasure.” So that is something!
The wine is said to be organic, and the winery is working to preserve biodiversity in the land which means they want natural ways to keep away pests and weeds rather than using chemicals.
A really interesting fact about these winemakers from the Jancis Robinson article: they are members of International Wineries for Climate Action, and so they are working to reduce their carbon footprint - they get 80% of their energy from solar panels, they use of electric vehicles in the vineyards, and they have installed nesting boxes for insect-eating birds. They even use lighter bottles for their wine.
The wine is described as spending three months on the lees and they stir the lees in that period - which again is the dead yeast and other residue left over from the fermentation process which can add texture, body, and creaminess to the wine. They use spontaneous fermentation, which means they do not add yeast, and this is also fermented in stainless steel tanks.
Well, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us!
ARTICLES and LINKS
White Grenache Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 22:27
Wine: Celler Xavier Clua Terra Alta El Sola d'en Pol Blanco (Find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: Spain, Terra Alta
Year: 2021
Price: $9.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: 90% Garnatxa Blanca, 10% Viognier
Screw Cap!
What we tasted and smelled in this Celler Xavier Clua Terra Alta El Sola d'en Pol Blanco:
- On the nose: Citrus, lime, anise, peach, honey, pear, apple, grapefruit, honeydew melon, smells a little syrupy, canned peach juice
- In the mouth: Lime, dill, a bit of a bite, bitter stone at the end, salty, acidic, peach juice, very dry, medium bodied
Food to pair with this Celler Xavier Clua Terra Alta El Sola d'en Pol Blanco: Good food wine, fish wine, baked salmon, white fish, fish tacos, spaghetti and clams, seafood wine, fried calamari
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it.
Celler Xavier Clua Terra Alta El Sola d'en Pol Blanco Wine Rating:
Wine: Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca (Find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: Spain, Terra Alta
Year: 2022
Price: $13.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: 100% Garnatxa Blanca
Professional Rating: JS 90
What we tasted and smelled in this Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca:
- On the nose: Sea water, perfume, flowers, stone, peach juice, Granny Smith apple, lemon, vanilla
- In the mouth: Citrus, pineapple juice, stone, sea salt and dill on the end, a pleasant dry and bitter lemon rind or zest aftertaste, medium body
Food to pair with this Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca: Spicy food, seafood, octopus, fried foods
Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca Wine Rating:
A fun wine to bring to a dinner party and surprise people.
Which one of these are you finishing tonight?
- Carmela: Celler Xavier Clua Terra Alta El Sola d'en Pol Blanco
- Joe: Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca
Taste profiles expected from White Grenache 34:38
- General
- Usual Wine: Stone fruit, such as peach, apricot, and lychee, Green fruits, including green apple, pear, honeydew, and lime, Herbs and spices such as star anise, nutmeg, cumin, and dill
- Wine Folly: Green plum, citrus zest, pear, honeysuckle, brioche
- Celler Xavier Clua Terra Alta El Sola d'en Pol Blanco
- Winery: Its palette of aromas includes citrus fruits, green apple and pear. This components make it to a perfect summer wine.
- Beaune Imports: Lively, somewhat exotic fresh fruit showing, citrus and some mineral in the nose, this exuberant wine is perfect for summer. Extremely refreshing, the complexity is surprising for this price point. Excellent acidity keeps you coming back.
- Experience Wine Company: Elegant and lightly aromatic with delicate tropical fruit notes, citrus fruits and hints of pears and peaches.
- Herencia Altes Garnatxa Blanca
- Winery: a fresh, clean and balanced wine, with a very expressive nose that awakens aromas of citrus, fruit and also Mediterranean herbs. On the palate it is very fresh, with a vibrant and very elegant acidity.
- JS: A round and fresh garnacha Blanca here with some subtle peaches, green apples and mineral characters. Fresh acidity brightens it up on the medium-bodied palate with a fruity finish
Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 37:20
Ok, so, Carmela, it’s time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast service - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.
We would also love to hear from you about a wine you would like us to taste and review. You can leave a message for us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com and you can join our email newsletter there, too, or you can always email us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com. And tell us some things you want to hear us do, or not hear us do!
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Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.
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