Grenache, a variety that copes well in the heat, doesn’t need much water and has experienced a rise in popularity in Australia in recent years, will be the focus of the next regular tasting undertaken by the Wine & Viticulture Journal (WVJ).

Australian producers of single-variety Grenache are invited to register their interest in the tasting by no later than Tuesday 30 June. The results will be published in the spring issue of the WVJ just in time for International Grenache day on 18 September.

There has been a growing interest among consumers in single-variety Grenache in recent years, with Wine Australia reporting earlier this year that sales of Australian Grenache grew 27 percent in value in domestic off-trade outlets in the 12 months ended 5 January 2020.

It has also experienced growth in the on-trade, where there was a 21% increase in Grenache listings in 2019, according to Wine Business Solutions.

Demand for Australian Grenache has also grown internationally, with exports more than doubling over the past five years to $5.5 million in 2019.

Australian Master of Wine, winemaker and wine writer Andrew Caillard stated at a masterclass on the ‘future icons’ of Australian wine in London last year that Grenache would “redefine the image of Australian fine wine in the future”.

The Wine & Viticulture Journal last tasted Grenache in 2011 when wines from the two regions most renowned for the variety in Australia — McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley – went head to head.

To register your wine in the tasting, please email WVJ editor Sonya Logan at: [email protected].

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