Welcome to March Wine Club! It’s been a busy month for us opening up the Wine Bar, so for the sake of our sanity, we decided to go back to basics. And let’s be honest, sometimes basic is best. So this month is all about the grapes! We’ve chosen single varietals this month so you can get a (mouth)feel for some of these grapes’ characteristics.
Humans and grapes go way back-- nearly 8,000 years. Cultivation began in the Middle East and since yeast naturally thrives on the skin of grapes, winemaking went hand in hand. Today there are over 10,000 varieties used to make wine. I’ve chosen some well-known and well-spread varieties, such as Pinot Grigio and Grenache, and some lesser-known varieties, such as Cesanese and Vermentino.
Pinot Gris/Grigio
Pinot Gris (French) or Grigio (Italian) is a pinkish/gray skinned grape used to make white wine. Its DNA is very similar to Pinot Noir, and is thought to be the result of a mutation that occurred centuries ago. Pinot Gris has been grown in the Burgundy region since the early Middle Ages. It spread to Alsace and Germany, Northern Italy, and was even exported to Hungary by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Today it is grown all over the world, and in New World wines, the choice of using Gris or Grigio usually denotes the style of the wine. Italian and Italian-style Pinot Grigios are light, acidic, and often fruit-forward. Alsatian and Alsatian-style Pinot Gris are fuller-bodied with less acidity. They usually have higher alcohol contents and sometimes an “oily” texture.
Maloof Wines, Pinot Gris No Clos Radio (2022). A husband and wife run winery in Forest Grove Oregon. Hand-harvested and direct-pressed. Fermented with native yeasts and aged in neutral oak Burgundy barrels on the lees with no batonnage (stirring) for 10 months. Lovely tropical fruit is balanced with bright acidity and well-integrated oak.
Pullus, Pinot Grigio (2022). Podravje, Slovenia. Hand-harvested and macerated for 48-72 hours with the skins. Cold fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks, and then aged for six months on the lees. Stone fruit and white flower, some oiliness, with lively acidity and minerality.
Grenache
Ah, I love Grenache! So do a lot of people. It is one of the most widely planted grapes in the world, and loves dry, hot climates. It is thought to have originated in Spain, where it’s known as Garnacha, but it also goes way back in Southern France (famous in Cote du Rhone blends) and Sardegna (where it is called Cannonau). Today you can find Grenache plantings in Morocco and Greece, Australia, Washington & California, and Mexico, Chile, and Argentina.
Grenache is known for its fruitiness and low tannins. In France, it’s often used in blends to add fruit and body. It’s the G in Cote du Rhone’s signature GSM blend (the others being Syrah and Mourvedre). In Rioja, Grenache is sometimes blended with Tempranillo to make the region’s typically robust wines a bit more approachable and enable them to be consumed younger. But there are plenty of beautiful examples of Grenache standing on its own. Spain’s Aragon region predominantly produces single varietal Garnachas that are becoming more complex due to lower yields, and Priorat winemakers have recently been producing very low-yield Garnacha that results in a dark rich wine that shows notes of fig and tar as it ages. One of my favorite examples of Grenache is from New Zealand-born but California-based winemaker Angela Osborne, whose label A Tribute to Grace is known for elegant, fruit-forward, bright & beautiful Grenache varietals.
Lo Brujo, Calatayud Garnacha (2020). Aragon, Spain. Natural fermentation with indigenous yeast in stainless steel, aged for 9 months in the bottle. Concentrated red fruit with warm spice.
Viognier
Viognier has a lot going on-- it’s known for its aromatic qualities and minerality, and in the right hands can produce a lush, full-bodied wine. It also requires some care. Viognier needs a long, warm growing season and is naturally a low-yield variety, making it less economically viable than other hardier varieties. In 1965, the grape was nearly extinct with only small plantings in France, but its popularity and thus the price of its wines have increased in recent decades. It’s now grown in the US, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Japan.
While viognier is often used as a blending grape to add “perfume” and complexity, it also shines on its own. This lovely example from the Languedoc does just that.
Cinquante-Cinq, Viognier (2021). Languedoc, France. Aged on fine lees for 6 months. Stone fruit bouquet with honeysuckle and citrus. Crisp dry finish with a touch of minerality.
Montastrell
You might know Monastrell by its French name Mourvedre; it’s the “M” in Cote du Rhone’s GSM blends. But since the wine we are featuring is Spanish and called Monastrell, that’s the name we’ll use. (The French wine industry has a long history of trade with the English and the Dutch, so the French names of grapes are most widely known. Bit of an oversimplification, but that’s the gist.) Monastrell is a thick-skinned, dark-colored finicky grape. It needs both a warm climate and “wet feet”, meaning it needs both adequate sun and water. It’s strongly tannic, and can often have some earthy, gamey, or herbaceous notes to it, making it useful to add structure to blends.
Fermina Monastrell (2022). Valencia, Spain. Hand harvested, temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel with continuous over-pumping (a type of mixing where you pump the juice back over the skins). Maceration fermentation lasts from 2-3 weeks. Earthy and spicy with blackberry fruit and herbal notes.
Cesanese
The red wine grape Cesanese is not as well-known as Grenache, and is only found in the Lazio region of Italy. Like many indigenous Italian varieties, Cesanese has been around a long time and was probably used by the Romans to make wine. Historically, it was used to make sweet wines that ranged from frizzante (slightly sparkling) to spumante (fully sparkling). However, in the last century winemakers have been appreciating the intensity of flavor this naturally low-yield grape offers, and have been producing some very high quality still red wines.
Alberto Giacobbe, Cesanese di Olevano Romano Superiore (2020). Lazio, Italy. Grown in volcanic soil Macerated for 10 days, Fermented in stainless steel and aged in cement. Dark fruit with a strong backbone of acidity, earthy and spicy.
Vermentino
Vermentino is a light-skinned grape used to make white wine, primarily in Italy, although it’s been gaining popularity in Southern France’s Languedoc-Roussillon region. In Italy, it is popular in both the southern isle of Sardegna and the northern regions of Liguria. Like most grapes, it has a number of names: Favorita in Piedmonte, Pigato in Liguria, and Rolle in Provence. The best examples of Vermentino come from Gallura and Colli di Luni in Sardegna. As you might be piecing together, this is a grape after my own heart that loves the coast. The sea breeze helps keep the vines cool (preserving the acid) and inhibits the growth of fungus. It’s a perfect wine to pair with seafood: light, fresh, with bright acidity and a touch of salinity and sometimes green almond.
Pala, Vermentino di Sardegna Soprasole (2022). Sardegna, Italy. Temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel, aged in stainless steel for three months before bottling. White flower, apricot on the nose with tasting notes of orange peel and salinity.
