International Garnacha Day is September 16th. Celebrate summer’s last hurrah with a few bottles of this unique wine and Mediterranean-style tapas!
Liven up your next gathering with this Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers recipe and some Wines of Garnacha.
Have you heard of Garnacha Wines, also known as Garnatxa and Grenache depending on where in the world you happen to be?
If you have, you have an above average oenological education. Congratulations. These grapes have been around for centuries but Garnacha’s popularity here in the States is only just beginning.
Do you know what this means?
It means you should grab several bottles and impress your friends asap while you’re still ahead of the curve. Once word gets around about this vivacious and fruity monovarietal wine with it’s more-than-reasonable price tag you will be seeing it and, more importantly, drinking it everywhere.
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I’m going to level with you.
I suck at talking about wine.
But I’m excellent at drinking it AND I know what I like. And this white here? La Fou?
It’s in my all-time top three favorite whites, keeping very good company with some vinho verde and Vernaccia di San Gemignano.
The reds we sampled were all delicious, ranging from medium to full-bodied. They were nice and fruity with some spice in the background.
The word that kept coming up for me as I sampled (And sampled. And sampled…) these wines was “clean.” I find some reds can get kind of dirty and funky. I didn’t get that from these wines.
To me, they seemed easy going and drinkable and, while they would go quite well with a juicy steak, I didn’t feel like I needed a hunk of meat just to get through my glass of wine.
Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers Appetizer for International Garnacha Day.
In other words, they’re perfect for tapas which, incidentally, is my family’s new favorite way to eat since visiting Barcelona this summer. Garnacha wines seem quite happy to go along for whatever culinary ride you care to get on.
Garnacha grapes originated in Northeastern Spain but have spread far and wide across the Mediterranean region so I decided on an ecclectic array of tapas, not strictly Spanish.
Why limit yourself?
The recipe I created for the mediterranean stuffed peppers borrows from Greek tradition with the feta cheese and mint, while the whole wheat pearl cous cous nods toward the Middle Eastern region.
Having spent a day in the foothills of the Pyrenees this summer, my favorite red was named Pirineos Selección. I admit to being completely biased but it is also delicious. And has a screw top.
I’m a lazy wine lover.
I suppose it could be mind over matter but I felt transported back to Catalunya by these wines. Next I want to do a blind taste test between Garnacha wines and others to see if I can tell the difference.
I’d like to thank Wines of Garnacha for giving me the opportunity to enjoy their products. I will definitely be asking for them at our neighborhood wine store.
Possibly as early as tomorrow morning.
Did I mention these wines go down easy?
- 1 cup dry whole wheat pearl cous cous prepared according to package
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1 Tablespoon minced preserved lemon rind
- 1/2 cup feta crumbles
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh mint
- 1 Tablespoon sherry vinegar optional
- Sweet mini peppers halved, seeded and ribs removed
- In a medium bowl, combine everything from the cous cous to the vinegar.
- Stuff peppers with cous cous mixture and serve with various tapas and Wines of Garnacha.
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