Cracka Wines
 
Check out any wine shops and there is a fair chance you’ll notice that things have changed a bit on the wine menu over the last five years. Firstly there are new wineries and grape varieties coming out of the woodwork all over this wide, brown land, giving us a greater range to choose from than ever before.

The second is that alongside these new local wines is an expanding range of imports from countries such as New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain. This trend began when the first lip-smackingly good Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand hit our shores 20 years ago and has been growing ever since. So much so that imports to Australia doubled last year showing that more local consumers are willing to take a leap into the wider world of wine than ever before.
 
Chief among the nations now sending wines to our shores is the great wine-producing country of France.  Since Roman times, the French has been making some of the best wines in the world and they still do.

While in the past there have certainly been problems at the lower end of the scale, with many French wines overpriced and inferior to a glass of decent Aussie Shiraz, the last 10 years has seen a great leap forward with quality at all levels higher than it has ever been before.
 
So if you want to take a dive into the world of French wine, here are a few tips. French wines are generally labelled by the region where they have been made rather than the grape variety, but don’t let that put you off because the local laws determine which grapes can be used in certain wines. For example red Bordeaux can be made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and or Petit Verdot.

Also the style of French wines is generally quite different from our own with most French wines slightly drier and often made to be food friendly, so with less overt flavour, alcohol and oak treatment.

Here are some styles that are a good introduction to the wines of France which are also readily available on the wine menu from large retailers such as Dan Murphy’s and Vintage Cellars, as well as the better independents.

• Côtes du Rhone (Grenache-based red wine)
• Alsatian Riesling
• Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc) of Chablis (Chardonnay).

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