Cracka Wines

It is human nature really – to stick with the tried and true and shy away from new types of wines. Sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir, syrah/shiraz, merlot, Marlborough, Central Otago, Yarra Valley, Barossa Valley. From wine to spaghetti sauce, it is usually the easier and safer option to take home a bottle that has hit the spot some time in the past. We are all built to be at least a little conservative with buying habits and it is a strategy that limits 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 very different creature. For in wine there are hundreds if not thousands of different flavours and sensations to be found. And most of all, that character boils down to the grape from which a wine is made. Sure where the fruit is grown plays a part but grape variety is by far the most important factor in the overall experience from 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. A point worth noting is that most (but not all grape varieties with sauvignon blanc one notable exception) taste best in wines from their homeland with varieties such as sangiovese, nebbiolo and tempranillo sometimes miraculous from Italy and Spain respectively. So with such variety to choose from all over the world why taste the same destination or grape every day when a world of flavour awaits from the local off-license or restaurant?

But where to begin? Pinot gris or its little brother pinot grigio, a characterful white grape with pretty tell-tale floral, pear drop fruit flvaours, is a fine place to start. Best known in the wines from Alsace in France, as well as the more delicately flavoured and zesty pinot grigio styles from Italy, it is a grape that is also coming good in the cool regions of Australia and New Zealand with fine wines that compare well with the rest of the world. Semillon is another white wine forever in the background but one that can make world class dry whites that are a little more restrained than varieties such as chardonnay and sauvignon blanc but lose nothing in complexity from vineyards in the Hunter and Barossa Valleys. 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.

The late Len Evans used to say we only have so many bottles of wine to enjoy in our lives and that no opportunity to taste something interesting or novel should be wasted. Sounds fair enough to me so get down to your local and grab some types of wines that you have never tried before .

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