The European Garnacha/Grenache wines are of great quality and sometimes not tasting them in the right glass or with sufficient oxygenation can make you not perceive the high quality and care that G&G’s European wines have. Here are some recommendations for proper consumption:

1. Decant the wine if necessary:

Although modern winemaking techniques make decanting dispensable for most Garnacha wines, either white or red, young or with a certain ageing time will improve with decanting. It is a convenient, fast and effective method to get oxygenation to wake up some wines.

To decant wine it is important to follow some basic rules:

• You should know the real state of the wine to know if it needs to be decanted or not. To do this, first of all it is necessary to bring carefully the bottle in case of deposit, then it will be necessary to open the bottle slowly, smell and taste it.
• You must slowly pour the wine from the bottle into the decanter, making sure that it slowly slides down the walls of the container. This must be done carefully as excessive oxygenation can have harmful effects, and using a candle or a light to check the arriving of eventual deposit. For this process the use of decanters, generally made of glass, with a long neck and a very wide and convex base, is necessary.
• The time spent in the decanter will vary according to the age of the wine, but it is usually short. In this sense, there is no standard rule, the best thing to do is to taste the wine.
• To facilitate and accelerate the oxygenation of a Grenache wine, you can rotate the decanter in concentric circles in a gentle and constant manner. This operation is not very advisable for very old because they could lose their qualities. This can be done to homogenate the wine temperature in a cooler bag full of fresh water.
• Decanting is a good option to use a wine at the last moment.

2. A glass for each Grenache:

It seems superfluous, but the glass is a very important element when drinking a Grenache wine. In fact, if the glass is chosen incorrectly, it can greatly affect your perception when tasting a wine, and can even confuse its color, aromas or flavor.

There are as many glass shapes as there are varieties of European Grenache. For example, a Bordeaux glass (with a larger capacity than the rest) is ideal for red wines (Red Garnacha/ Grenache Noir or even Peluda or Tintorera); a Burgundy glass (its design is shorter but it has a larger bowl) is perfect for whites (Garnacha Blanca or even Grenache Gris). The universal glass is ideal for a rosé wine and sparkling wine, even slightly closed at the edges so that aromas are better perceived. While for fortified sweet wines it is better to choose a Port glass or a burgundy white glass, as the aromas are better perceived.

3. How to fill the glass:

It is advisable to pour the right amount of wine into the glass depending on the chosen wine. But in general, for all the wines, it is necessary to not fill more than the level at the biggest opening surface, while if it is a sparkling wine, it is a good idea to fill almost to the rim.

4. Hold the glass by the stem:

This is done to avoid heating the wine. It is advisable to tilt the glass (about 113º) on a white background to see its color. In this way we can have an idea of the evolving and even the age that the wine has.