Chardonnay: The Prima Donna
According to statistics quoted in James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion 2009, Chardonnay grapes make about half of the white wine produced in Australia. This is quite surprising because the variety was scarcely grown before 1980. Chardonnay is relatively easy to grow and it adapts to a range of climates. It is used with oak for full bodied styles, unwooded Chardonnay is favoured as a lighter bodied white and it is also used very successfully in sparkling wines.
The Supporting Acts
There are signs that Australian wine drinkers may be tiring of the variety and there are a number of challengers on the horizon, notably Sauvignon Blanc and the resurgent Riesling. Semillon and Verdelho remain important varieties, especially in warmer regions.
The New Kids on the Block
The story of the first decade of this century among white wines is undoubtedly Pinot Gris aka Pinot Grigio. Australian wine makers fell in love with this variety a few years ago and savvy consumers are enjoying this new variety. The area of bearing vines of Sauvignon Blanc has risen from 207 ha to 1,362 ha in just three years to 2007.
What of the Future for Australian Varietals?
Four new varieties seem to be jostling for the attention of wine makers to become the next big thing in Australian white wines. Albarino from north western Spain has great potential in wetter areas; Arneis from Italy's Piemonte is suitable for cooler vineyards; Fiano from Southern Italy is attracting attention from wine growers concerned about climate change,; and Vermentino, a native of Corsica and Sardinia, impresses with its firm bodied wines. There are still only a few wineries using these varieties in Australia.
How are These New White Varietal Wines Shaping up?
Winemakers seeking to introduce new varieties into Australia do their networking and benchmarking at the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show (AAVWS). This is held annually at Mildura in the Murray Darling Wine Region. Wines from all four of these of these varieties were shown, and obviously the judges felt that there was a future in them.
Twelve Arneis wines were judged at the 2008 AAVWS show in their own class. One gold medal, two bronzes and two commended (equivalent to bronze) were awarded. The Albarino, Fiano and Vermentino wines were judged in two classes along with quite a few other varieties. Between them the ten Albarino wines entered collected one silver medal and 4 bronzes. Seven Fiano wines managed two bronzes. Five of the seven Vermentino wines entered received medals, a silver and four bronzes.
Note the Albarino wines at the show are now considered to be Savagnin. This article explains how this mix up happened.
These results are remarkable given that all four of these varieties can be regarded as works in progress. As the viticulturalists and winemakers gain experience with them the wine can only get better.
You can see a list of the wines that won trophies at AAVWS in 2008 here.
You can find more about these varieties including lists of Australian wineries using them at Vinodiversity's varietal wine index.
Darby Higgs - Darby Higgs is a wine writer and webmaster based in Melbourne Australia. He is the Author of Emerging Varietal Wines of Australia: a guide ...
Join the Conversation