Award-Winning Grenache Grapes for Sale (2026 Harvest)
Our 2023 Grenache Noir earned a Double Gold at the 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition — one of the biggest wine competitions in the country. The fruit behind that wine grows on our family’s old vines in Knightsen, Contra Costa County, and we’re taking reservations on it for the 2026 harvest. If you make wine, that medal tells you something useful. Here’s what, and how to get the fruit — or the bottle.
What a Double Gold actually means
A Double Gold isn’t just a nicer-sounding Gold. At the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, it’s awarded only when every judge on the panel votes gold — a unanimous vote, with no dissent. It sits among the highest honors at the competition. Out of thousands of wines entered from across the country, ours was one the judges agreed on completely.
We’re proud of it. But for a winemaker, the more interesting part isn’t the medal — it’s what the medal says about the grapes.
Why an award matters when you’re buying grapes
When you buy fruit, you’re taking a bet on how it’ll turn out in the bottle. A grower can tell you the fruit is good. An award is the same claim, checked by a room full of professional judges who had no reason to be kind.
Our 2023 Grenache Noir was made from this same old-vine Grenache Noir. It went through the crush, the ferment, the barrel — and came out the other side good enough to win unanimously. That’s a real signal about what the fruit can do in careful hands. It doesn’t guarantee your wine (that part’s on you), but it takes some of the guesswork out of sourcing.
The fruit behind the medal
Our Grenache Noir comes off old vines in eastern Contra Costa County, on deep sandy soil with a cool breeze off the delta. Hot days, cool nights — the fruit ripens fully but keeps its acidity. We farm naturally and dry-farm the vines, so they dig deep and give us smaller, more concentrated berries. Everything is picked by hand.
As a grape, Grenache Noir is generous and a little peppery, with bright red fruit. It’s friendly on its own and it plays well in a blend, which makes it forgiving to work with whether you’re filling tanks or a few carboys.
For the 2026 harvest we expect about 15 tons of Grenache Noir. Quantities are limited. For current Brix, pH, and pricing, email us at cortezavineyards@gmail.com and we’ll send the latest numbers — we don’t post specs that could be out of date by harvest.
Reserve Grenache Noir for 2026
Summer is when serious buyers lock in fruit, so now’s the time.
- Wineries and cellars: see availability and start the conversation at Grapes for Wineries & Cellars.
- Home winemakers: reserve your batch at Home Winemakers: Grapes Available – Reserve Yours Now.
Either way, email cortezavineyards@gmail.com with what you’re making and we’ll take it from there.
Rather drink it than make it?
If you’re in the Bay Area and just want to taste what old-vine Contra Costa Grenache can be, you don’t have to wait for harvest. The award-winning 2023 Grenache Noir is in our online shop right now: [shop the 2023 Grenache Noir.
It’s a family wine — grown, picked, and made by the five of us — and it’s easy at the table with almost anything you’d put next to a good red. Bring it to dinner and see what a Double Gold tastes like.
FAQ
Is the award for the grapes or the wine? The Double Gold is for our finished 2023 Grenache Noir. We’re offering the same old-vine Grenache Noir fruit for the 2026 harvest — the wine is the proof of what the fruit can do.
Can home winemakers buy Grenache Noir grapes? Yes. Tell us roughly how much you want and we’ll let you know what we can do.
How do I get pricing and grape numbers? Email cortezavineyards@gmail.com and we’ll send current Brix, pH, and pricing.
Where can I buy the bottle? The 2023 Grenache Noir is available in our online shop at cortezavineyards.com.
Reserve the fruit: wineries & cellars · home winemakers. Or pour the bottle: [shop the Grenache Noir 2023 Questions? cortezavineyards@gmail.com.
