The
wine route 2005
What's
hot in the world of wine, and how to experience it
(this
article was originally published in My Travel in flight magazine)
If you like wine, here’s
some good news. Wine quality worldwide is better than it’s ever
been. In recent years even the previously slumbering wine producers of
Europe have woken up and are starting to produce good cheap wine of
consistent quality. Added to this, tasty and affordable wines are now
flowing from the ‘new world’—a term encompassing the wine
industries of countries such as the USA, Chile, Argentina, Australia
and New Zealand.
Those of you who were of
drinking age 15 years ago will remember that buying wine used to be a
complete lottery. Lots of cheap wine was downright nasty. Now a trawl
through the bargain basement selections in the supermarket may yield
some rather neutral, anonymous wines but you’ll be hard pressed to
find anything undrinkable, and you might even get some nice surprises.
What changed? It’s largely the fault of the Australians. They
started making inexpensive wines that tasted ripe, fruity and frankly
rather delicious, and drinkers in the UK took them to heart. The
success of the Australians spurred on the likes of Chile and Argentina
to target export markets with well made affordable wines. The result?
This caused the producers in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and other
traditional wine nations to take a long, hard look at their industries
– worried about losing market share, they’ve tried hard to
modernize and improve the quality of their more basic wines, with some
success. In the end, it’s we, the consumers, who have benefited from
this increased competition.
Another big change has been
the way that wine is marketed. There are two ways to sell wine. The
traditional way has been to stick the name of the place of origin on
the label. Indeed, wine is remarkable in that its flavour often
reflects a sense of place. But this makes life very difficult for
consumers, who have to know a awful lot about wine to realize the
differences between, for example, a Pouilly Fumé (a crisp Sauvignon
from the Loire) and a Pouilly Fuissé (a full flavoured Chardonnay
from the south of Burgundy), plus details of the many hundreds of
other appellations in France alone. The second way is to stick the
name of the grape variety on the label. This suddenly makes wine a lot
easier to understand, because each grape variety has a distinctive
flavour profile, and it’s a lot easier to become familiar with
perhaps a dozen grape varieties than it is to learn hundreds of place
names. The success of new world wines has partly been because of this
shift in marketing, making wine more accessible. Of course, regional
differences are still important in wine, and it’s likely that the
sorts of wines prized by wine buffs will still be sold this way. But
for the rest of us, having the grape variety (or varieties, when these
are blended together) on the label is a useful aid to understanding
what the wine will actually taste like.
So who’s hot in 2005?
Which are the wines to look out for? Here’s my selection of six of
the current over-performing regions.
Australia
Australia has been the great
success story in the global wine market. A combination of Aussie
pragmatism and the clever appliance of technological innovation has
led to the emergence of an Australian wine industry that produces
affordable, easy-to-drink red and whites that taste of sunshine. Of
course, Australia makes some serious wines, too, from regions such as
the Barossa, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale and Margaret River, but it is
the way that they’ve been able to make cheap wine taste nice that
has enabled them to grab the attention of wine lovers worldwide.
France’s Languedoc
The Langeudoc has
traditionally been the region that made the largest contribution to
the European wine lake, churning out millions of litres of inexpensive
table wine. Over the last couple of decades, things have begun to
change, and many producers have begun to shift their focus from
quantity to quality. The best wines tend to be made from Grenache,
Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes, although the once second-rate Carignan is
making a comeback. Sub-regions such as Faugères, Pic St Loup,
Montpeyroux, Minervois, St Chinian and Corbières are leading the
field in terms of quality. The best producers make robust, full-flavoured
earthy red wines that offer good value for money, and the varietal
whites, made from Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Viognier are also pretty
smart.
Spain
Surprising fact: Spain has a greater area under vine than any other
country, although because the yields from these vineyards are
generally low, it only ranks third in the list of wine producers. In
the north west, the cool damp region of Galicia produces some
stunningly aromatic but expensive whites from the Albariño grape, and
Rueda is beginning to produce tasty, modern whites from Verdejo and
Sauvignon Blanc. Otherwise, Spain is largely known for its red wines.
Rioja, with its attractive, sweetly fruited reds (aged in American
oak), is probably the most famous region, but not the hippest. This
accolade is currently being fought over by Ribera del Duero (rich
Tempranillo-based reds) and Priorato (dense wines from low yielding
Grenache and Carignan planted on steep terraces). Other regions that
deserve a mention are Navarra (easy drinking rosé and full flavoured
reds), Penedés (the home of Champagne-substitute Cava), Somontano
(modern varietal wines from the foothills of the Pyrenees), Jumilla
(chunky Mourvèdre-based reds) and La Mancha (the vast central plain
that produces largely plonk, but these days increasingly competent and
worthy plonk).
Argentina
Ranking fifth in the list of
global producers, Argentina produces a lot of wine, most of it
destined for the thirsty locals. As the attention of producers has
turned to the more fussy export markets, there has been an increased
planting of better varieties and a general step-up in quality. Watch
out for gutsy reds from the Malbec grape, which thrives in Argentina,
and also aromatic whites from the indigenous Torrontés variety.
Chile
Are you looking for
attractive, fruity wines with bags of fruit, but at budget prices?
Chile could be the place for you. Chile's speciality is inexpensive
but flavour-filled wines from the international varieties of Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and more recently
Shiraz and Chile’s ‘own’ grape, Carmenere. These are now rapidly
filling up the supermarket shelves in the wake of the Aussie wines
that have recently moved to a higher price bracket. The key wine
regions include Maipo, Rapel, Curicó, Maule and trendy cool-climate
Casablanca.
South Africa
Now pretty much fully
emerged from the shadow of Apartheid, South Africa is increasingly
making better wines which usually represent good value for money at
all levels on the quality scale. Although South Africa is classed as a
'new world' region, wines it produces are often nicely poised between
the new world and old world styles. Look out for reds from South
Africa's 'own' variety, Pinotage, which makes striking funky-tasting
wines, often with a savoury, cheesy edge to them, and whites from the
widely planted Chenin Blanc. But the hot tips in the Cape are reds
from Shiraz and whites from Sauvignon Blanc, which are increasingly
stealing the limelight. The most famous regions are Stellenbosch,
Paarl and Constantia, although cooler regions such as Walker Bay and
Elgin are beginning to attract attention.
Visiting vineyards
Part of the attraction of wine is that it is not only a drink, but
also an expression of a region’s culture. And vineyards tend to be
situated in the sorts of places we like to go on holdiday to. As a
consequence, many people—not just wine buffs—find the prospect of
visiting vineyards appealing, but some are put off because they
don’t know what to do, or they simply feel that they don’t know
enough about wine. But don’t let your own shyness or perceived
ignorance put you off. Providing you follow some simple guidelines and
bear a few pointers in mind, vineyard visiting is tremendous fun.
The first thing to remember
is that some producers are more geared up to receiving visitors than
others. Most vineyards in Australia, California and South Africa will
almost always have a tasting room, shop and visitors centre (or some
combination of these) where there are staff dedicated to receiving
visitors. The same is true for many larger European operations these
days, who will likely have a tasting room and English-speaking staff.
This makes visiting easy. But in many traditional European regions,
visiting a smaller producer will require an appointment, and the
proprietor will have to take time out of their schedule to see you.
This is a completely different ball game: potentially more rewarding,
but only for the very keen.
The most famous producers in
the celebrity wine regions of Burgundy and Bordeaux have no trouble
selling out all their wine on release, and so don't expect them to be
eager to meet casual visitors. For this reason, often the most
rewarding visits are to the less famous producers who need to work to
sell their wine.
In a typical tasting room
the procedure should be pretty straightforward. There will be a list
of wines available for tasting, and sometimes there may be a small
charge (I'm not opposed to this practice: it dissuades people who
aren't really interested in the wine, and takes away any moral
compulsion people may feel to buy wine even if they don't like it). It
is quite acceptable to taste through the whole range: don’t feel you
have to choose just one or two.
Do you have to buy anything?
In more modern wineries, the tasting room is seen both as a PR
exercise as well as a sales pitch. It is generally acceptable to taste
and not to buy. The staff are pleased if you display a genuine
interest in the wines, but not distraught if you don't purchase. In
France and other classic European regions, things are less clear. The
tasting is most often seen as a prelude to a sale.
To get the best reception at
a winery, be genuine, polite and take an interest. Try not to visit
during busy hours, such as weekend afternoons: even with the best will
in the world, the staff are unlikely to be able to give you the time
or service you deserve. And don't forget that in France and many other
European countries, lunch time (usually 12–2 pm) is sacred. Although
the idea of taking a coach tour through a wine region can seem
appealing, I’d advise against it unless you are sure that your
fellow passengers share a similar level of interest in wine. Cellar
door staff must groan at the sight of another bus load of tanked-up
tourists coming through their doors.
How to taste wine
Tasting wine should be a fun
procedure, but too often people are anxious about it. The idea is to
decide whether you like the wine or not; there’s no right or wrong
involved. Take the glass, swirl it and have a sniff. Do you like what
you smell? Can you spot some of the aromas? Then take a slurp. Let the
wine rest in the mouth a moment while you assess it. What does it
taste like? Is it harmonious? Is it interesting? Then either swallow
or spit (after a bit of practice you’ll realize you can get just as
much information this way). I find it helps me focus if I’m writing
notes on my experience, however brief and rudimentary, and with a bit
of practice you begin to build a wine tasting vocabulary. The
advantage with spitting is that you can visit several wineries in a
day and not get slammed, but that’s a personal decision – some
people are happy just to drink the stuff.
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