(Inforum) - The view driving past a vineyard is of fairly homogenous planting of vines carefully staked and lazing away in the sun, awaiting harvest. What passers-by may not realize is the diversity that is likely to exist in that planting. There could be several varietals offering differing tastes that would go into a blended wine.

One such varietal may be one that the average wine drinker knows little about — grenache. This is the second-most planted varietal in France, with over 11,000 hectares.

Sommelier Jean Taylor introduced this varietal to me during a wine tasting along with some bargain wines coming from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France.

This is another part of France that Thomas Jefferson was acquainted with and turned to when he was no longer on his presidential salary of $25,000 per year. With greatly reduced funds, Jefferson found these wines bordering the southeastern corner of France, along the Mediterranean, to be of excellent drinkable quality and well within his reduced budget. He vowed to not stop drinking wine, just find some good wines that were less expensive.