Grenache (pronounced gren-ash) (in Spanish, Garnacha, in Catalan, Garnatxa) is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain and in the south of France. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively high alcohol content, but it needs careful control of yields for best results.

It tends to lack acid, tannin and color, and is usually blended with other varieties such as Syrah, Carignan and Cinsaut. Grenache is the dominant variety in most Southern Rhône wines, especially in Châteauneuf-du-Pape where it is typically over 80% of the blend. In Australia it is typically blended in "GSM" blends with Syrah and Mourvèdre.

Grenache is also used to make rosé wines in France and Spain, notably those of the Tavel district in the Côtes du Rhône. And the high sugar levels of Grenache have led to extensive use in fortified wines, including the red vins doux naturels of Roussillon such as Banyuls, and as the basis of most Australian 'port'. Ampelographical evidence suggest that Grenache is most likely of Spanish origins, with the northern region of Aragon being its likely home.

An early synonym for the vine was Tinto Aragonés (red of Aragon). A competing theory has the Italian island of Sardinia (where the grape is known as Cannonau) as the possible originating source with the vine being introduced to Spain sometime in the 14th or 15th century when Sardinia was under Aragon rule. Grenache, under its Spanish synonym Garnacha, was already well established on both sides of the Pyrenees when the Roussillon region was annexed by France.

From there the vine made it way through the Languedoc and to the Southern Rhone region where it was well established by the 19th century. Despite its prevalence in nearby Navarra and Catalonia, Garnacha was not widely planted in the Rioja till the early 20th century as vineyards were replanted following the phylloxera epidemic. Grenache was one of the first varieties to be introduced to Australia in the 18th century and eventually became the countries most widely planted red wine grape variety until it was surpassed by Shiraz in the mid 1960s.

Early Australian Grenache was a main component in the sweet fortified wines that was the lynchpin of the early Australian wine industry. In the 19th century, California wine growers prized the vine's ability to produce high yields and withstand heat and drought conditions. The grape was extensively planted throughout the hot San Joaquin Valley where it was mainly used as a blending component for pale, sweet jug wines.

In the late 20th century, the Rhone Rangers movement brought attention to the production of premium varietal Grenache and Rhone style blends modeled after the Grenache dominate wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In the early 20th century, Grenache was one of the first Vitis vinifera grapes to be successfully vinified in during the early development of the Washington wine industry with a 1966 Yakima Valley rosé earning mention in wine historian Leon Adams treatise The Wines of America.

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