Garnacha and it's relation to Cannonau

This past weekend I broke out again of the Italian wine shell and ventured into the world of Spanish wine celebrating Garnacha Day that falls on the third weekend of September annually. Wine bloggers, wine lovers and sommeliers all over the world participated in a number of different events and online chats via #GarnachaDay. I had the honor and privilege to receive 5 different kinds of garnacha from Snooth and attend a live virtual tasting hosted by Master Sommelier Laura Maniec and the Best Spanish Sommelier of 2014, Guillermo Cruz. Laura is the owner of Corkbuzz and Guillermo is a sommelier at one of the top 6 restaurants in the world, Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Garnacha Day with Snooth

Get ready for your palates to salivate as we not only talk about the wines of the tastings, but I included some suggestions of those on the live chat to consider.

Here are the wines that we sampled at the virtual tasting. Luckily I enjoyed them throughout the weekend because God knows I can't throw back 5 bottles in a night.

• 2014 Clos Dalian Garnacha Blanca – crisp, refreshing, good acidity, minerally, lots of tropical fruit (banana). Some suggestions of swordfish, shrimp ceviche, and grilled fish were discussed. Retail $10.
• 2014 Beso de Vino Old Vine Garnacha – Meaning “fall in love” with a catchy label, ripe raspberries and cherry aromatic nose with blackberries on the palate with a slight tartness. Medium bodied. Retail $8.99.
  
   
• 2013 Las Rocas Garnacha – One of the first garnacha wines I ever had this wine showed ripe fruit, plums with herbal notes and some white pepper. Pairing suggestion of pulled pork. Retail $10.99 
  
  
  
• 2013 Coto de Hayas Garnacha Centenaria - A hint of spearmint on the nose with some nice spice on the palate, dark fruit and hints of cedar. Full bodied with a nice length on the finish. Retail $14.99 

• 2010 Vinas del Vero Secastilla Garnacha– Anise on the nose. A more complex, full bodied wine with ripe dark fruit, savory, good structure and spice. Retail $28.

*average prices from Snooth

The favorite of the night?

What seemed to be the favorite of the night for myself and others was the final wine, the 2010 Secastilla. Saved the best for last right? The 2013 Coto de Hayas was my runner up. For value you can't go wrong with some of the other wines at that price point.

Selection of the night

2nd runner up

How does garnacha relate to Italian grapes?

Even though we're talking about garnacha from Spain there is a connection to Italian wine. Garnacha is the same as the grape in Italy known as cannonau and also in France as the grape grenache. Within Italy it's most commonly grown on the island of Sardinia. Why so many different names? There are many clones of grape varieties throughout the world and even within Italy you'll find the same grape known under different names within different regions. The grape nebbiolo in Piedmont is known as spanna in the northern part of the region. Trebbiano, the most commmon white grape throughout Italy is also known as procanico in Umbria. The list goes on. What makes these grapes different from country to country is the terroir. This includes the soil, climate, topography, etc. According to Guillermo, Sardinia and Corsica are great places for this grape to show its best expression outside of Spain.

Have you had Garnacha or maybe any of its clones throughout the world?

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