Australian wine continues to storm ahead...

For Restaurant magazine launch issue October 2001

Australian wine continues to storm ahead in supermarkets and wine shops, although enthusiastic predictions of it overtaking France to secure pole position are perhaps premature. At the moment Oz doesn’t seem to be seriously threatening the stronghold of French wines in restaurants, reckoned to account for nearly half of all bottles opened, but that could easily change (and already has when considering the wine list in an average bar). If so, will we see yet more formulaic branded Chardonnay and Shiraz rather than higher quality, individual wines, or other unusual (but arguably less saleable) offerings such as dry Aussie Riesling, which can be ideal with Asian dishes, for example?

It’ll be harder work still in getting the message across to the server and drinker about the screw cap closures recently introduced on many fine Clare Valley (north of Adelaide) Rieslings such as Knappstein, Wakefield and Mount Horrocks. The producers are convinced it beats cork or plastic hands down for this style of unoaked aromatic white, in terms of protection and development of the wine or no chance of musty taint. And they aren’t the only ones: several New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs – a more familiar proposition in restaurants – such as Jackson Estate, Kim Crawford and Wither Hills (courageously all premium quality and price), have been sealed with screw caps from the 2001 vintage. So get used to it, it’s the future!

But France has already hit back with value for money, well made wines from the South, which are perhaps more style friendly for younger drinkers than traditional, complicated and overpriced Burgundy and Bordeaux (however good). These include fruity, rounded but characterful Vins de Pays or ‘country wines’ made from trendy grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon or Viognier, which can produce seductively perfumed yet full-bodied whites. I’d also like to see more reds on lists from established areas of the Languedoc-Roussillon such as Fitou, Corbières and Saint-Chinian, where talented winemakers are proving themselves beyond doubt and often at great prices!

Other countries are focusing their efforts on the on-trade too. Chile, established as a reliable provider of easy-going and tasty varietal wines but witnessing a fairly static market share, is now impressing with higher quality. Leading wineries such as Errázuriz and Cono Sur, and smaller producers like Thierry Villard, Viña Gracia and Viña Casa Silva, are getting results with top Pinot Noirs and Merlots, for example. In addition, Chile has Carmenère up its sleeve, a ‘reject’ red Bordeaux variety, which is delivering many interesting wines in the country’s warmer regions and showing its hand as something unique in a cluttered wine world.