Why do so many people drink only Pinot Noir or Shiraz as reds and Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay as whites? Or all their reds from Australia and all their whites from NZ?
Why haven’t they tried a Gruner Veltiner, let alone a Plavic Mali or a Pedro Ximinez?
Why would most people consider Roussanne to be a Greek opera singer or that Aspiran was a painkiller when in fact they are grape varieties?
When was the last time you bought a wine that came from Portugal, Austria or Croatia?
How is it that wine, a simple beverage created to make life a bit more enjoyable, has the ability to cause angst, increase heart rates and generally paralyze some people in certain situations?
It’s fear people, fear! What we don’t know or understand can make us fearful.
I am going to provide the ‘secret’ – the key that will unlock your fear & open the wide, wide world of wine… Experiment.
That’s it, just e-x-p-e-r-i-m-e-n-t.
If you want to order a Gewurztraminer or a Viognier (both delicious white grape varieties) and you’re unsure about pronouncing an unfamiliar word (its ‘geh-vurz-trah-meenah’ and ‘vee-on-yay’ respectively) what’s the worst that could possibly happen? Are you going to be asked to leave the restaurant or struck down with a bolt of lightning if you dont pronounce it 100% correctly? Of course not.
Yet by at least having a go you might discover a food and wine match made in heaven!
What about choosing a bottle of Gruner Veltliner (a gorgeous white from Austria), Plavic Mali (stunning red from Croatia) or Pedro Ximinez (like liquid liquorice from Spain)?
You wouldn’t do it would you? Why? Because you are likely unfamiliar with these wines or their origin.
Once again you have so much more to gain by trying an unfamiliar wine instead of the bog standard varieties you normally buy. At worst they may not be to your taste. At best you might fall in love with a new variety and introduce your friends to something they might love too. Chances are that if these wines are being sold in NZ their quality will be pretty good.
Wine variety expert Steve de Long in the index to his Wine Grape Varietal Table estimates that there are more than 10,000 distinct wine varieties – how many have you tried?
In the case of most wine drinkers it would be less than 10. That’s just 1/1000th of the world’s grape varieties . So here’s my challenge to you, E-X-P-E-R-I-M-E-N-T-! Attending wine tastings is a fun, informative and very cheap way to do this!
To be fair, the supermarkets generally carry the ‘bog standard’ – that’s what supermarkets do – so find yourself a good retailer or look online. Being close to Auckland I regularly buy wine from, and can personnally recommend the following –
- First Glass in Takapuna (www.first-glass.co.nz). They also do fabulous tastings every week.
- Caro’s in Parnell (www.caros.co.nz). Some regular tastings also.
- The Wine Importer (www.wineimporter.co.nz). No retail shop, but easy ordering and prompt delivery.
Tell them I sent you and that you want to try something ‘different’. Alternatively find a good retailer in your area with some specialist knowledge.
Ascension’s whole philosophy is ‘daring to be different’ (which is why we grow Viognier, Flora, Pinotage, Malbec ) but that’s another blog for another day. Meanwhile I am off to crack open a very smart bottle of Portuguese Bastardo.
I would love to hear how far you have moved out of your vinous comfort zone. Post your ‘most out there’ wine on this blog so everyone else can compare, and share your favourite wine retailer with us!
Cheers
Darryl
Tags: Aspiran, Bastardo, Chardonnay, Flora, Gewurztraminer, Gruner Veltliner, Malbec, Pedro Ximinez, Pinot Noir, Pinotage, Plavic Mali, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Viognier
Darryl,
OMG! I bought a Valdespino Pedro Ximenez El Candado from Glengarrys in Ponsonby Rd – what a taste and texture sensation!
I didn’t realise Pedro Ximenez was a sherry until I started looking, but now I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to go back to port again.
The texture is just as stand-out as the flavour profile. The only thing I’ve ever had of equal viscosity is cough syrup. It’s a syrupy brown gooey nectar that looks like liquid molasses. You don’t really swill it; you sort of throw it around your mouth and then let it ooze down your throat. Sublime.
And the flavour… crikey! Big, super-sweet, raisiny flavours with notes of molasses, caramel, dried fruit flavours – dates, figs… It is very complex and rich and velvety. Think Christmas pudding that’s been through a blender with a bottle of sherry and a bit of cream and you get the idea!
The bottle came with a tiny padlock locking the cap to the bottle, which was a bit gimmicky. But surprisingly for a cynical marketer, I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I found myself entering into the spirit and keeping it under lock & key between tastings. It didn’t take long before the 375ml bottle was gone.
Thanks for introducing me to Pedro, Darryl. I’m now in the market for a different brand to compare to this wonderful first introduction to Pedro Ximenez. Back to Glengarry methinks.
Thanks Teresa
Isn’t it amazing how alcohol can bring two people together! That is really interesting about the English Methode. I have never tried one but I have certainly seen tasting and award results where those English ‘Champagnes’ have out-scored the ‘real thing’ – and from some of the great Champagne houses too.
I read a book a few years ago by a lady called Gay Biddlecombe who established an English winery called St George. A really entertaining read.
You are right though to suggest ‘different styles from the tried and true’. A great Antipodean oddity is ‘Sparkling Shiraz’ from Australia. These are big Shiraz wines made in the methode style and perfect with turkey and ham on Xmas Day. My favourite is from Barossa Valley Estates, the E&E ‘Black Pepper’ Sparkling Shiraz – a real monster!
Cheers, Darryl
Okay, I know the idea of this article is to steer away from the norm; Chardonnay, Sav Blanc, Shiraz and Pinot Noir, but I’m going to direct it straight at them. Or at least two of them.
The difference, and fear factor, stems from their circumstance and location. I spent 5 years in the UK, where, as far as I could tell, the imbibing habbits focused mainly on excessive quantity over quality. During one of these nights of ‘quantity’, I met my fiancee, a well turned out, rather handsome Englishman, who as it turned out knew a hell of a lot about wine; and beer, and spirits, and food, and ‘mixology’,…..and blah, blah, blah.
He was the Maitre’d of a well know restaurant in the area.
As he showed me around Englands great heritage, we sampled what I thought must surely be every different type of beer and Ale in England, when he told me, ‘Don’t worry, there’s always something new to try, infact, there are more variations of beers than there are wines!’
Ah ha! Wines! At last something I could get on board with! Sick to death of beer (I think he was trying to integrate me!), and longing for a cool, crisp glass (or bottle) of Sav, I skillfully steered the conversation towards wine, more specifically towards, (and this was supposed to be the kick in his bloody patriotic shins that would shut him up about beer) the fact that England was not known as a wine growing region.
I should’ve known better.
In his wine cellar, nestled among the unpronounsables, was a bottle labled ‘Chapel Down Pinot Reserve 2003.’
It is a ‘Methode Traditionalle’ which is made of the obvious, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a little Pinot Meunier. The grapes we are supposed to be staying away from. But…… Wait for it……I must get points for fear factor here……..Maybe one or two for suspense……..It’s from bloody England!!
To me, the wine was fruity, yet subtle, with the most amazing taste of biscuit. I doubt I will ever get to taste a Champagne Philipponnat
Clos des Goisses, but if it’s even half as good as this, I will be amazed.
Now I could tell you, as I was told, that the success of these particular varietals, making this particular style of wine, was due to comparable chalky soils in the South East of England to the Champagne region, and the climatic shifts over the last few decades, making the area shine like Epernay in the 1940’s, but these (because I don’t really understand them,) wouldn’t be my words.
My words would be; it’s without doubt, the best sparkling wine I have ever tasted. It’s style, flavour, and texture in the mouth is something I have never came across before, and, purely for selfish reasons, I hope the world dosen’t get hold of this jem as it outshines anything I’ve had from New Zealand
We’d all love to be like Darryl and ‘dare to be different’, but if you’re not quite ready to give up your trusted Chardonnay, Sav Blanc, Shiraz or Pinot Noir. Maybe try it from a different country, you never know, they may just suprise you!!
Hi Yvonne
Thanks for picking up on the ‘fear factor’ part of this blog. I can see from your website that you are well qualified to comment! Last year (when like many business owners in the current climate, I was fairly well gripped by fear) I read a book that posed a simple question – ‘what is the worst that can happen’? That simple, short question did wonders for me because when you sit down and think about it, as a business owner in a country like NZ, what IS the worst that can happen? It’s not the end of the world – the sun still comes up in the morning and you still have a family who loves you! Of course you don’t want the worst to happen, but if you have mentally accepted that possibility, you don’t dwell on it that much. Anyway, it helped me.
It’s a shame you can’t remember that wine – I wonder what it was. Remember, you have 10,000 varieties to get through, keep going!
Kind regards, Darryl
Great article, Darryl! I’m a wine lover who also knows a thing or two about fear – I teach fear busting courses. Your comments on fear are so on the button.
Fear holds people back from really experiencing life. As you rightly say, without experimenting and trying something new, we’ve no idea what we’re missing. By saying ‘yes’ to new opportunities, what doors might open to us? Just take a look at what happened to the man whose story was featured in Jim Carey’s movie ‘Yes Man’.
Whilst we were living in the UK several years ago, we were looking for some wine for a summer party we were hosting. Our wine merchant suggested trying an Australian wine that he described as ‘ideal for summer BBQ quaffing’ – it looked like a red but tasted like a light and fruity rose. It was simply sublime and went down a storm with all of our guests. (Sadly I can’t recall the name of it now.) So much so, that we ended up buying that wine several times over that summer, as did several of our friends. Yet, if we’d stuck to the tried and tested route, we’d have never discovered that wonderful little number.
Life sends us lots of little opportunities to experiment and grow. By turning them down, we’re ultimately the loser. And with trying a new wine, what’s the risk? Live dangerously – risk something new and see how much more exciting life can be.
Hi Mal,
Thanks for your comment. While Nuffield Street might not be as exotic as Rioja, sometimes the people you are with and the conversations you have can make even more difference to how a wine tastes!
Cheers, Darryl
Lovely wine that I enjoyed about a year ago was a 2005 Rioja/cosecha I think it was from Sierra cantabria. Unfortuneately we only enjoyed it at the Spanish restaurant in Nufield Street, Newmarket not in it’s country of origin. Hot summer!
Hi John,
Thanks for taking the time to write a comment. I have never tried a wine from Uruguay before – it sounds like that trip was a great experience! I have tasted Tannat before, and a friend of mine Ross Spence (who was the founder of Matua Valley Wines along with his brother Bill – Ross is also the ‘father’ of NZ Sav Blanc seeing he was the person who first imported the vines and made wine from them) is growing it in a little vineyard in Waimauku. It is a massive beast of a wine!
Keep experimenting, Darryl
Hi Darryl
In February last year we were on a cruise round South America and one of the ports of call was Montevideo in Uruguay. As there was a trip organised to a vineyard we thought this would be an ideal excursion. As a steam railway enthusist it was made more special for me as we were taken out to Juanico on a steam train, built in Manchester in the 1920s. At the station in Juanico we were the centre of attention for the local schoolchildren, but we soon departed for the vineyard. There we were treated to a marvellous buffet lunch together with samplings of their wines. After lunch we were driven round the vines in coaches, which makes the vineyard seem slightly larger than Ascension.
One of the wines which really gained our attention was a Don Pascual Reserve 2007 Tannat, which was full of fruit with a chocolatey richness. I understand that the Tannat grape originated in southern France, but I had never come across it before. A real find for us, but sadly the bottles we brought back did not last long – think it calls for another trip one long hot summer.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with my readers and myself. I had never heard of gorse flower wine before – what a great way to use a noxious weed! I think you would have to serve that pretty cold! We look forward to trying the next vintage – I think.
Cheers, Darryl
Hi Darryl,
Some very dear friends of my lovely wife and I (Lifeland Reservations) make their own wine. We were lucky enough to sample a very rare treat one Christmas. Its best served chilled and a rather viscous wine with good legs! Its made from all the wonderful gorse flowers at the top of Govan Wilson Road. Mountains and mountains of the flowers are picked, pressed and distilled. The colour is quite yellow and it has an unusual flavour, almost with a hint of ‘grappaness’ to it… we are lucky enough to have a 2007 and 2008 vintage… we’ll let ya know when we crack the next one open and have you and Brigette over for a ‘cold’ one!
Cheers Steve
Michael’s story of his parents living in the south of France and sending him parcels of French wine reminded me of something…
I run with the YMCA Marathon Club and every year one or two club members make the pilgrimage to France to run the Medoc Marathon. Well, “stumble” the marathon is more accurate.
You see, it’s the most politically incorrect event you could ever imagine. NZ bureaucrats would go apoplectic in their efforts to shut it down here. It traverses numerous vineyards in the Medoc region and all the “aid” stations are stocked with wine and cheese and other local delicacies.
Most of our club members aim to run the first 21km then walk/drink/eat/stagger their way through the second half! Needless to say, Medoc Marathon is on my bucket list.
Hi Dale,
Thanks for your comment. It is great to discover cheap wine in the countryside that exceeds your expectations! You can see why Italy has the greatest per head wine consumption in the world (54 litres for every man, woman and child per year!). Wine tastes so much better at the vineyard / winery as well!
Cheers, Darryl
We were travelling in Italy and went to a small supermarket and purchased a 5litre flagon with a handle on the neck and it only cost 5euro in a little town called Colle de Valle Elsa, thought it would be rubbish, no one new what grape varietty it was but I thought it would do well for happy hour back at the villa (Ripostena). Well there were two aussie couples there and we sat down the first night and well we drank the lot before dinner, gave us a good buzz and was it good.
Next day went to a vinyard and met some expat Kiwi’s who wer filling this great big can encased glass container (estimated 40litre) asked them if they owned a resturant but they siad the wine was for private consumption, they didnt know what it was but they loved it enough to by one of these every two weeks, tasted the wine and it was fine and only 1euro a litre, pretty good buying eh
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, Thailand is not one of the great wine producing nations! I had a mate who made wine up there in Bali. Because of the tropical climate he got two crops a year instead of one, flogged it off to tourists and made a few bob!
That is great that you unexpectedly enjoyed a Hunter rose. I think that Biodynamics really does offer something to a wine though it is hard to pin down exactly ‘what’. If you are up this way Herons Flight make an excellent Multepulciano from some of the oldest vines of that variety in NZ.
Regards, Darryl
Oh and I forgot to add how hot the summer was…
Sorry Darryl but I don’t have a stand-out memory of any particular exotic wine distinct enough for me to remember the details of what it was or where it was from however two instances of stepping outside my norm come to mind which are worth telling. A good and a bad.
The bad….. Thailand.
I was in a restaurant in Bangkok and seeing the wine list had a white from Thailand, curiosity got the better of me.
I don’t know what it was except it was white. The variety was indiscernible (and indecipherable!) and it had a particularly strong chemical tone to it with a sort of ‘burning pots’ nose.
I could only wonder at the abuse the fruit must have been through to make wine in such an adverse wet hot sticky humid climate.
I didn’t even know Thailand had a wine industry. Perhaps they import the fruit?
Now the Good.
My wife and I recently travelled to NSW to explore the Hunter Valley, a most enjoyable trip but to anyone reading this with interest and thinking of doing the same, be prepared to spend enough time there to spread yourself out. Its virtually all Shiraz and Semillon and you will get bogged down if you don’t give your self a break because it’s difficult to get any variety.
However on this trip we visited the Macquariedale Estate, a family owned vineyard which pride themselves to be organic and biodynamic (not yet fully certified biodynamic). I was of course a little skeptical as it’s pretty left-field and out on a limb for such a heavily planted and expensive growing area.
The wine that really impressed me was of all things a Rosé. I think a 2008, or was it 07? We tried two I cant remember which was the favorite and I don’t even know the blend. I’d check the celler but it’s long gone. Too good not to drink! It coudl have been many things as they grow Chardonnay, Muscat & Merlot (which must be comparatively adventurous for the area) and of course the default Syrah and Semillon.
I know Rosé(s) are not exactly renowned for their complexity and not normally something I would buy to enjoy by themselves but this was such a delicately structured, well-balanced example that it really came as a surprise and gave me an interest in Rosé that I certainly didn’t have before. I know cellar door tastings can often bring more to the experience and often influence an opinion of a wine a lot but when we got back to NZ it tasted just as good as it did in the the tasting room.
The biodynamic cultivation technique was really the only thing apart from the winemaker’s skill I can think of which may have made the Macquariedale Rosé stand out amongst the others in the valley.
We were recommended a few others to compare but nothing really came close.
I notice they don’t have a Rosé listed on their website so hopefully it hasn’t sold out. I’d like to hear what other people think of it.
I notice a few winemakers in the Marlborough/Nelson area are starting to grow and experiment more with Montpulciano. So far so good too! Framingham have certainly made it work for them. I look forward to seeing it more on the shelves under NZ labels.
Thank you for this idea, this has been inspiring, I’m going to make a special point to buy something new and unusual every time I pop down to the corner shop.
Mike.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your comment. What a great mum! Beaujolais is made from a grape called Gamay Noir and uses a special winemaking method called ‘maceration carbonique’ which gives it that classic bubblegum aroma. Keep an eye out for Te Mata (Hawkes Bay) Woodthorpe Gamay Noir which is brilliant and at around $15, excellent value. I have seen it in New World supermarkets.
Salut, Darryl
My parents live in the south of France, and being the loving kind of parents that they are, I often recieve parcels of French wine sent through the post. They’re not exactley connoisseurs of fine wine, I sometimes recieve a nice chablis, a 2er cru Claret if it’s my birthday, or, more often than not, it’s a cheap Cote du Rhone that probobly cost more to post than to buy. Needless to say they are all greatly appreciated, just like the food parcels she used to send when I first left home!
A few weeks ago I recieved a wine that went by the name of ‘La Grange Charton’ from the Beaujolais region, the southern most part of Burgundy. To be honest, I didn’t think much of it. Very very light, fruity and ‘quaffable’, but nothing to right home about. Then, by utilising the wonderous and mysterious powers of ‘Google’, I stumbled across a review by a wine writer named Jancis Robinson, who suggested to chill the wine to around 10 degrees. So I did. What a transformation! Suddenly the wine was bursting with aromas of Bannana and pear, and tasted distictly of bubble gum. Brilliant! I’m sure this variety must be done well somewhere in NZ, and if you come across it, this is the ideal summer substitute to the same old same old Sav. Long may this Hot Summer continue!
Hi Brandon,
Thanks for your comment. Pedro Ximinez (sometimes referred to just as PX) is one of the grapes that make real Sherry in Jerez, southern Spain. On its own, and not aged in the oxidative way that Sherry is, it makes a thick, black wine almost like treacle. It is fantastic! You will find one made by the ‘Lustau’ winery in some NZ stores.
Cheers, Darryl
OMG, liquid liquorice from Spain? Pedro Ximinez, I’ve never heard of you before but look out coz here I come! Darryl, you have such an ability to paint a very vivid picture with words. I will report back on my liaison with Pedro.
Hi Anne,
Thanks for your comment. See, blogging is easy!
Gewurztraminer is one of my favourite varieties so I am pleased you have discovered it – a shame your friends don’t like it, but that is more for you! Keep an eye out for the following ones from NZ – Lawsons Dry Hills, Johanneshof, Stonecroft, and my favourite, Vinoptima (from Gisborne – stunning, it is the only variety they make).
Cheers, Darryl
HI, First time I have “blogged” Better late than never – not very adventurous but tasted a gewurtztraminer for the first time (when driving somewhere between Napier and Gisbourne at a very ideosyncratic vineyard – loved it so bought a case – virtually none of my friends like it though – so lucky me!!! Its lovely.
Hi Julien,
Thanks for your comment. You are right, Carmenere is a lovely red variety and will do well in NZ. As you say, Ransom’s have proven it is great in Matakana (Robin originally planted the variety thinking it was Cabernet Franc but DNA testing later proved it was Carmenere – the same thing happened to us – we planted Pinot Gris which turned out to be a very rare variety called Flora!). Keep experimenting!
Thanks for sharing your experience with my readers,
Darryl
Hi Darryl
A red I have purchased and drank in the past 12 months in Carmenere. I have bought it from one of your neighbours at Ransom wines and from Calais Wines in the Hunter Valley. Both have been a very nice drop and I have done some research about the variety finding that it is often confused with Merlot and is a common variety in Chile. Hot summers there.
Hi Graeme,
Thanks for your comment. Don’t worry, most people who describe wine are full of the proverbial. I recently saw a wine described by a prominent NZ winemaker as reminiscent of rolling river stones – what the heck is that about!?
Anyway, I can’t say I have had a ‘Summer Aphrodisiac’ before! I hope you don’t have to wait until you are 80 to have that second bottle!
Cheers, Darryl
Hi Darryl, I haven’t got the language (dear to all wine judges and judges and connoiseurs!) to describe my choice, but just the label was enough to make me (and my wife!) order it for a dinner at the vintners restaurant on Waiheke Island. The wine was called Summer Aphrodisiac, a rich red of indescribable complexity and flavours, and good enough to make us say we’ve got to try it. We are both in our seventies, so there’s a double entendre there! The vineyard and restaurant are named Saratoga. Youl’ll get my meaning if I say we will do it again bfore we reach our 80s. Cheers. Graeme. Hot Summer.
Hi Alex,
Thanks for your comment. Those are excellent ‘outside the square’ wines you mention, especially the Vega Sicilia. I have been fortunate to try that wine once some time ago and I recall it was stunning – and very expensive! Sadly us poor winemakers must stick to wines under $500 a bottle!
Regards, Darryl
The best “non savvy / chardy / shiraz or pinot” wines I’ve had recently, have been a real mixture of New World / Old world varietals and origins.
I’m a big fan of the Heron’s Flight Sangiovese from just down the road to you, a beautiful fruity wine that just gets better and better.
From Matariki I recently drank a bottle of their 2004 (I think) Quintology Red, bought in 2008 which was a very interesting tipple, but probably had a little bit to go to be spectacular.
From the old world, the most interesting of late was a bottle of Spanish wine, a Valbena Bodegas Vega Sicilia from 2002 that I had purchased from Berry Bros of London, back when we lived in the UK still. I got hold of it in 2005, just before we left the UK and had kept it until Christmas 2010, where we enjoyed it on Christmas Day. Fantastic wine, quite possibly one of the best bottles I’ve ever had.
I guess that it is hard in everyday life, and during a long hot summer to go past some of the great specials on offer on our bog standard varieties right now, but I certainly like breaking the mould a little now and then!