A yeast feast.

Vinoland's first red fermentation of 2016 is under way.  The Vichyssyrah fruit showed up on Friday, was inoculated on Saturday and this evening the must is already merrily foaming along.  However, I don't expect too much foam with this fermentation due to the characteristics of the particular yeast that Vinomaker selected for this Syrah.
Coming in at 24°Brix the Vichy grapes were crushed and destemmed before being introduced to their partner-in-fermentation, Lalvin ICV-D254 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Lallemand's ICV-D254, a Rhône specialist, is a low foaming yeast selected to ferment in low nitrogen musts and contributes aromas of ripe fruit, cedar, spice and licorice. Sounds lovely, I can't wait to taste it - in two years time.

A gaggle of Grenache.

I don't think there is an actual collective noun that is specific to a group of Grenache wines.  I just like gaggle and Grenache together, although bevy (as in quail), or bouquet (as in pheasants) might be more appropriate.  But I digress.
Vinomaker has been on a bit of a Grenache binge of late.  He has been promised some Grenache grapes this year and so, seeing as he has never made this particular wine varietal before, he has been out on a Grenache investigative-shopping spree (mostly Napa and Sonoma iterations).  Consequently, we both have been, and will be, tasting a fair amount of this wine varietal (whose grape is a native of the Rhône Valley) in order to get a little better acquainted with Californian-style Grenache. 
The Frith, 2012 Grenache Napa Valley, was an early standout for me; light to medium bodied, lots of raspberry (Vinomaker got strawberry), candied-cherry, a hint of spiciness and rather food friendly.  Sigh, unfortunately, in my estimation it had a tad too much oak.  Otherwise, the Frith was an intriguing little wine.
Most of the wines in Vinomaker's Grenache collection are blends containing Syrah and Mouvedre (GSMs).  But one, the Mathis, 2012 Grenache Sonoma Valley, contains Petite Sirah, Carignane and even a little Alicante Bouschet (a tinturier variety).  If I deem any of the other wines in the gaggle blog-worthy I'll more than likely post about them right here. 
At this rate, I may tire of Grenache before the next International Grenache Day, which is slated for September 19th, rolls around.  We'll see.