Història dels orígens de la Garnatxa negra

Abstract

Before discussing Grenache, it is important to identify the differences in the current meanings of Vernaccia, Vernassa, Grenache, Garnatxa or Cannonau as the main designations used to (questionably) denote the same wine or grapevine variety. This is done in this paper. The term Vernaccia is found in literary texts and in documents written by kings and nobles as early as in the 13th century. It could be understood as a synonym for Garnatxa. However, today some authors reject this theory and postulate that Vernaccia is a sweet white wine that spread during the Middle Ages from Genoa in the Liguria region to various European courts, namely the Crown of Aragon and the French and British courts, among others. What we do know is that this Vernaccia reached Liguria through the trade routes between the Republic of Genoa and the East, especially via the Greek islands of Crete and Cyprus. Grenache Noir appears later. It remains unknown whether this was a new variety or a mutation of the Vernaccia variety. The first documents found to mention the Grenache Noir variety date back to the 16th and 17th centuries and were written by Catalan authors. Generally accepted as a synonym of Grenache Noir, Cannonau is a different case. Until recently, many authors claimed that it originated either specifically in Catalonia or on the Iberian Peninsula. Today, new theories have postulated that Sardinia is the origin of this variety.