I’ve sometimes wondered, as I’m sure you have, too, why anyone would buy a wine from a place where it’s more expensive and possibly not even as good or as much to your taste as the region that initially popularised it. Italian varietals such as sangiovese from Australia, for instance, grüner veltliner and gewürztraminer from New Zealand, and albariño from Uruguay rather than Rias Baixas in Spain. The answer, I suspect, is simply just because you can, and since most of us who love wine are driven by curiosity (and I’m guessing you wouldn’t be reading a wine column if you weren’t), the opportunity is possibly too good to resist.
Some grapes, of course, are grown practically everywhere – chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and syrah/shiraz to name just three. Others, meanwhile, have ended up in wine-producing countries where regulations aren’t quite as strict as they are in the classic wine regions of Europe. Find me a winemaker who doesn’t want to experiment, particularly if they suspect that their terroir is ideal for the variety. In fact, we can get so used to the idea of an adoptive country being the go-to source for a grape that it’s easy to forget where it originally came from – malbec from Argentina, rather than Cahors or Bordeaux, being a case in point.
Obscure varietals are having a bit of a moment, though. As I’ve mentioned before, both Marks & Spencer and Waitrose have cashed in on our appetite for the more obscure byways of wine with their respective Found and Loved & Found ranges, while Sainsbury’s has a Discovery label – the aligoté in today’s pick below is a good example, and in my view better than many a supermarket chablis. I imagine the strategy is to promote a more adventurous mentality among customers, not least because curious wine drinkers often end up spending more given that it’s essentially their hobby.
I’ve mentioned M&S’s Found Refosco before, but the same range’s Agiorgitiko 2021 (£9, 13.5%), a robust, characterful Greek red, is worth trying, too, though, like the SMV in this week’s pick, it’s available in store only. Greek wines were definitely on the up last year, though rather oddly without a corresponding craze for Greek food; they work pretty well with Middle Eastern food, too, though.
Anyway, with 11 days still to go until the end of the month, it’s not too late to embark on “Tryanuary”, as it’s rather tiresomely called by retailers desperate to discourage us from stopping drinking altogether. Just get a group together, buy six bottles of the same grape variety from different regions and compare them – you’ll almost certainly find a gem you didn’t know about.
Five wines to pique your curiosity
Specially Selected Castellore Pagadebit Romagna DOC 2022 £8.99 Aldi, 12%. Never heard of Pagadebit? Me, neither. A tad overpriced, especially for Aldi, but a perfectly pleasant dry white and obscure enough to flummox even the smuggest wine bore.
M&S Kopraas SMV 2023 £9 (in store only), 13.5%. Robust, Rhône-ish red from talented South African winemaker Duncan Savage. The initials stand for syrah, mourvèdre, viognier, but it’s mainly syrah.
Bouza Albariño 2022 £27.50 Jeroboams, 13.5%. Elegant Uruguayan take on ultra-fashionable albariño. Bright, fruity and less saline than the Spanish version.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Discovery Collection Aligoté 2022 £14, 12%. Super-dry, squeaky-fresh white. An intriguing alternative to chablis.
Bodegas Mazas Garnacha Vinas Viejas 2020 £14.95 Ultracomida, 15.5%. An absolute belter of a red from the lesser known Spanish region of Toro.
For more by Fiona Beckett, go to fionabeckett.substack.com
