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6>>3 6;>14B ‘I associate Grenache with cheerfulness, joy and happiness,’ says winemaker Peter Mathis.

6^cRWP 6Pa]PRWP. Grenache, long known as the ‘fleshy’ grape that gives heft to Hearty Burgundy, finally gets some respect By James Knight

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n top of a dusty hill overlooking the Ukiah Valley, a few acres of grapevines rioting with light green, spiky foliage and laden in nearly biblical fecundity with clusters of blue-gray grapes the size of footballs stand as tall as men. To anyone familiar only with domesticated vineyards within the neat confines of trellis wire, its looks like a throwback to a simpler age; it looks, in fact, like a viticultural land of the lost. Meet Grenache, a staple of ordinary wines the world over that’s also the source of some of the North Bay’s most interesting, vibrant new wines. Despite its persistent obscurity—and an old reputation as a workhorse blending fruit— Grenache has ardent supporters. “I love that grape,� Peter Mathis says wistfully. “It was the whole reason I went in the wine business.� Mathis says he developed an intense passion for the wines of the south of France, leaving a non-wine career when he decided

that he’d make this kind of wine in the United States—eventually. “It actually took 20 years to the day from when the light bulb went off to when I sold first my bottle,� he laughs. But this is high praise for Grenache, considering that Mathis’ day job is head winemaker at Ravenswood Winery, synonymous with the cult of Zinfandel. Grenache is no wimpy wine either, according to Mathis, who’s not circumspect on the subject. “I associate Grenache with cheerfulness, joy and happiness,� he says. “It feels nice in your mouth, it smells beautiful and it’s not a labor to figure out why it’s appealing. A lot of grapes are cerebral; you have to learn to like them, essentially. With Grenache, it’s natural.� At once simple and seductive, Grenache almost seems like a spoiler for all that we learned in Premium Reds 1A: Cabernet Sauvignon has powerful structure because of small, thickskinned, dark berries. Pinot Noir, with delicate flavors, is reputedly shy-bearing, and fades fast outside its narrow comfort zone. Grenache is light colored, thin-skinned and rudely

abundant, producing bumper crops under extreme conditions all over the world—and makes a serious wine that’s more versatile and approachable than Cabernet, yet more hearty and just as sensuous as Pinot. Often described as “fleshy,â€? it’s got a body that lends itself to rosĂŠ and red alike, and its forward raspberry, strawberry fruit may be spiked with wild, woodsy herbes de Provence aromas. At its best, it’s not hard to imagine asking, where have you been all my life? Called Garnacha in Spain, the grape has its origins in the Medieval kingdom of Aragon. Ground-hugging, old-vine Garnacha bushes are dry-farmed even in the arid Iberian plains, naturally limiting its productivity and resulting in intensely spicy, jammy wines. When Grenache wound up in Southern France, it found a little more rainfall and somewhat more prestige. It’s the principal grape of the Châteauneufdu-Pape appellation, the heart of the Southern RhĂ´ne and former papal summer home. There, Grenache is blended with Syrah and any of a baker’s dozen varietals to make powerful red wines—or nearly equally famous rosĂŠ. &+ THE BOHEMIAN

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