The international competition dedicated to the Grenache grape variety will celebrate its 11th edition in June in a new format and in New York. The jury will select the best wines that will be officially celebrated at a special gala in September also in the Big Apple.
After Roussillon, Aragon, Catalonia, Sardinia, Pays d’Oc, Châteauneuf du Pape, Castile, the Italian Marches, and Navarre, and for the first time in its history, the great annual meeting of the World’s Grenaches is leaving European territory to successfully position itself in the North American market. In fact, the 2023 edition of the competition will be held in New York, in the heart of the world’s largest consumer market. This is a perfect opportunity to draw the attention and curiosity of North American wine professionals and enthusiasts to this fashionable varietal.
“It has been several years since circumstances forced us to postpone this first edition outside Europe, but this wait has allowed us to refine the concept and make it even more innovative. This, too, is a strong value of Grenache, that of being able to adapt and go off the traditional paths. In 2023, the ambition of the competition is to open the doors of the North American market to all producers and enthusiasts of the Grenache grape variety,” explains Fabrice Rieu, president of the competition.
With the guiding principle “From Europe to the World,” the 2023 edition will take place as part of the “European Garnacha/Grenache Quality Wines” program. “This collaboration, which is part of the European Garnacha/Grenache Quality Wines program, is a world first. The implementation of an innovative program that sets aside rivalries between production regions to defend a common brand: that of the excellence of the grape variety and its producers. We are convinced that in the coming months the world’s largest wine consumption market will experience a real “Garnacha/Grenache Mania,” adds Stéphane Zanella, President of the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon.
For the first time this year, the jury will be composed exclusively of U.S. professionals (importers, distributors, sommeliers, etc.) and influencers (media and trade journalists). This choice is intended to broaden the base of local tasters and increase the visibility of the wines participating in the competition. In case of distinction, the commercial prospects in the North American market are already promising.
In addition to the relocated tasting in June, on September 14, the day before International Grenache Day, the winners of this 11th edition will be honored during a gala evening in New York with the big names of the North American wine world.
Grenache: one of the few developing grape varieties
With 163,000 hectares of vineyards, Grenache is the seventh most planted grape variety in the world. It is the emblematic variety of the Mediterranean countries, especially Spain, France and Italy, which together account for more than 90 percent of the world’s planted area. Spain, France and Italy are the three main producing countries, bearing the colors of Europe, but Grenache is widely planted throughout the world-North and South Africa, Australia, North and South America, Croatia, Greece, Lebanon, etc.
About Grenaches du Monde
Grenaches du Monde is an annual competition open to all Grenache wines (pure or blended), with no restrictions on color, origin or nationality. Producers and merchants who wish to register their wines can do so online until March 31 at grenachesdumonde.com.
Created in 2013 by the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon (CIVR) in Perpignan, the Grenaches du Monde Competition became itinerant in 2016 with the first edition moved to Aragon (Campo de Borja), then Sardinia (2017) and Catalonia (Terra Alta, 2018). The competition returned to Perpignan in 2019, and the following year it set off again for Montpellier in collaboration with Vins de Pays d’Oc, the world’s leading producer of Grenache rosé wines. In 2021, to meet health requirements, the Competition was divided into four tastings in as many Grenache capitals: Cebreros in Spain, Châteauneuf du Pape and Perpignan in France, and Ascoli Piceno in Italy. In 2022, the competition visited Navarre before taking on this year’s original challenge in the United States.
