Aug 20 2010
Go Beyond Traditional Wine Types And Explore New Varieties
It is human nature really – to stick with the tried and true and shy away from new types of wines. Pinot noir, shiraz, merlot, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, riesling, Yarra Valley, Barossa Valley, Marlborough, Central Otago. From wine to spaghetti sauce, it is usually the easier and safer option to take home a wine bottle that has hit the spot some time in the past. We all suffer being a little conservative in our purchasing behaviour in order to minimise failure.
With spaghetti sauce I can understand when they all taste like sweet, salty tomato paste with a liberal serve of dried herbs. But wine is a far more complex beast. In drinking wine, there is world of countless flavours and varities to be tasted. Primarily, that character is a result of grape which a wine is made from. Where the grape grown does play a significant factor. The key is really grape variety which determines the total experience derived when consuming a glass of wine.
That said, wine is a wonderful beverage in that it can also give the consumer a taste of a different country or culture all from the comfort of a lounge chair. It’s worth noting is that wines taste their best when from their country of origin including varieties such as sangiovese, nebbiolo and tempranillo from Italy and Spain. There such variety to choose from that you no longer have to be boring and drink the same wine from the same region every time you buy a bottle.?
So how do we start? Pinot gris and pinot grigio, an interesting white with a lovely floral, sweet fruit flavour, is a good place to begin. Pinot Gris is well known from great wines found in France, or the delicate flavoured and zesty pinot grigio in Italy, these grapes are flourishing in cooler Australian and New Zealand regions with great wines that are truly comparable to the world’s best. Often in the background you’ll find Semillon which can be an excellent dry whites with a more subtle flavour than say a chardonnay and sauvignon blanc while losing no complexity from vineyards in the Hunter and Barossa Valley. Other white grapes worth taking a look at include viognier, chenin blanc, gewürztraminer, and roussanne.
For red wines, there are plenty to sort through including the massive, full-bodied wines from grapes such as zinfandel or durif, or others with a little less density like cabernet franc or gamay. If personality is what you are looking for, sangiovese, nebbiolo and tempranillo seldom disappoint with savoury fruit flavour, rustic tannins and freshness of acidity that make them superb food wines.
Len Evans was quoted as saying that with so many bottles of wine to enjoy in our lives, one should not waste an opportunity to try taste something new and adventurous great Len Evans once said we only have one life to experience so many types of wine and the chance to try something interesting should never be wasted. It is clear that now is time for you to get to your local bottle shop and buy some wines types that you have never tried.
