September 18th is International Grenache Day

Grenache Day Celebration is September 18th (Photo credit: Grenache Assn)

What are you going to do for #GrenacheDay on Friday, September 18, 2015? I had no clue about it but hey, who doesn't want to be part of the real-time revelry as Grenache goes global! This year will be the Sixth Annual International #GrenacheDay, a worldwide celebration for the most widely planted red grape in the world.

Wine lovers across the world celebrate with global tastings, parties, winery events, social media postings, photobombs, inspired menus, and tweets. Fans of the most voluptuous of grapes join with restaurants, nightclubs, merchants and wineries to celebrate their favorite Grenache wines at home or away, the third Friday of every September.   

In the US,enjoy Grenache at events across the country: California's cult restaurant The Girl & The Fig, the Culinary Institute of America and the dynamic Rhone Rangers' tastings; New York's Acker Merrall & Condit's wine shop & Wine Riot's fun Wines of Garnacha night; and in Washington DC, Daniel Boulud's DBGB restaurant.  In Canada,"molecular" food & wine pairing expert and award-winning author François Chartier will be highlighting Spanish Garnacha.

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Discover the diversity of Grenache at the annual celebration. (Photo credit:Grenache Assn)

Worldwide, events include tastings at prestigious wineries such as Yalumba & Torbreck in Australia andthe annual Barossa Valley-McLaren Vale Australian Grenache smack-down! In Italy, look for tastings with Alberto Loi (making Cannonau, the Italian Grenache), and in France, wineries including Domaine de Mourchon, Chene Bleu, and Domaine of the Bee will take a break in the harvest to host dinners; La Passion du Vin will showcase their selections, and the producers of Rasteau will pair their notoriously sweet wines with chocolate. In Spain, join retailers such as El Corte Ingles for some in-store fun and in Tokyo Yamashiro-Ya will feature Grenache. 

The Grenache Association is a grass-roots not-for-profit organization operated by volunteers who are passionate about wine and wine education, and open to lovers of fine wine across the world. The goal of the Grenache Association is to educate wine lovers and promote Grenache through workshops and wine tastings and to encourage best practices it in the vineyards, in the winery and at the retail.

International #GrenacheDay was launched in 2010 following the first International Grenache Symposium held at the La Verriere vineyard in France.  The symposium was founded by wine gurus Steven Spurrier and Michel Bettane, Walter McKinlay of Domaine de Mourchon, and Nicole Rolet of Chene Bleu wines. 

Grenache is prevalent in the South of France, and grown in regions such as the Southern Rhone (including Châteauneuf-du-Pape), Provence, Languedoc and Roussillon, as well as many of the best regions in Spain such as Priorat, Campos de Borja, Catalayud; and Sardegna in Italy.  It is also popular in Australia and the US, and grown in more than a dozen other countries around the world including China.

This eco-superstar has drought-resistant deep-rooted vines and is particularly well-suited to withstand climate change. More wine enthusiasts are discovering Grenache's unique ability to transmit its "terroir" and exploring this rich variety.

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