Wine Beginner's Quick Start Guide to Grenache
Just starting out in wine, but confused about what to try next? If so, you should try grenache, and in this simple video, Certified Sommelier John Alanis tells you all you need to know about grenache to get started, plus gives you three great recommendations.
You can get great grenache from Chateauneuf du Pape (CdP) from the Rhone Valley in France, plus you can get fantastic old vine garnacha from Priorat in Spain. And don't forget about California wine, you can also get great grenache in Pasos Robles and Santa Barbara. If you like Merlot or California Zinfandel, you'll love grenache.
You can even get France's answer to Port Wine, made from Grenache- VDN, Vin Doux Natural, from regions such as Banyuls, Maury, and Rivesaltes.
The John Alanis Magical Wine Whole Bottle Review Scale
100 Perfection, find a bottle once every 5 years, indescribably Magical, never forget it, impossible to convey in mere words.
99 Almost perfect, find a bottle every one to two years, Magical, makes you feel emotions/feelings you’ve never felt before, takes you forward and back in time, swirling memories
98 Magical wine, find a bottle two to three times a year, takes you places, evokes emotions, and brings ups old memories
97- Almost Magical, hints at places and memories, evokes emotion, but not quite magical. Fantastic evolution of the wine, finishes at a different place than where it started, flavors outshine emotions.
96- Fantastic flavor experience, bottle evolves and changes, evokes some emotion, but experience is all about the wine. We want this to be our “floor” every time we drink a bottle, but we must choose a bottle with the potential to meet these expectations.
95 Great flavor, mouthfeel, some evolution and change, focus is completely on the wine, doesn’t evoke emotion.
94 and below- enjoyable bottle of wine, goes great with food and friends, first sip and last sip are pretty much identical. Doesn’t evoked any emotion or trigger any memories, but was thoroughly enjoyable from a taste experience. Good to drink when you just want a glass.