The following articles were first published in the Melbourne Weekly/Melbourne Times 2010.

 

There is nothing more daunting than having to navigate your way through a fat wine list with words that are hard to pronounce and prices harder to fathom.

 

Fear not, just by ordering the three wines below you will have instant qudos, be able to order your wine quickly and move the conversation onto more important topics, such as who'll win Wimbledon. Tally-ho.

 

Lustau "Los Arcos" Amontillado, Jerez, Spain, $18 half bottle

Amontillado is a Fino sherry that has been put back into barrel for further ageing. It continues to evolve, through this process maintaining its fine lean texture, and developing its flavours and mahogany colour.

 

Sherry is an addiction, a delicious flamenco addiction.  This Amontillado sherry offers a world of extraordinary taste and length that quite surpasses just about anything else on this planet. As a style of wine to learn about, this can be quite a tricky one, although I guarantee once you have learnt it, you will be hooked. Yes it is dry, yes it has two "lls" which make it hard to pronounce (A-mon-ti-yado), but if you have ever been embraced by the fortified wines of Rutherglen and thought to yourself; these are lovely but I want a dry version, then this is it. It has roasted nuts, brown sugar, raisins, cloves, apples, melted butter and superb acidity that leaves you wanting.

 

2007 Domaine Thomas, Sancerre France, $38

This is made from Sauvignon Blanc, but don't tell anyone because that grape is not cool. Sancerre Blanc however is totally cool (I'm adding the "blanc" part because the Sancerre "rouge" are made from Pinot Noir). Tight, bright, fresh, lean, minerals, lemon, flowers, apples, passionfruit and spice. Need I say more? Sancerre is part of the Loire Valley, a mega-region in France, starting at the Atlantic and almost reaching into Burgundy. What makes this cool and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc uncool, is that this is a) French and b) not a fruit bomb; it is wine for grown ups, and Sancerre (pronounced: Sohn Sair) is nice to say. I hope you said that twice.

 

2006 Monredon,  Cotes du Rhone, France  $24

Cotes du Rhone wines have been in Australia for a long time, and they are basically a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre, or "GSM" which is easier to write,  "gism" is unacceptable, so make note young people. This particular wine is really quite something, and surpasses almost all Cotes du Rhone in this price point and indeed even higher price points. Medium bodied, it has a cracking peppery nose, leaves of fresh tobacco, raspberries and roses. It is dry on the palate, with grippy tannins and good length. You would be forgiven for thinking this was a very posh wine indeed, and just knowing that this wine is so fantastic will make you the Fonz in no time at all.

 "Wot's in a name? Wot's in a string o' words?" Now the relationship between wine and a CJ Dennis poem may instantly strike you, however we shall soon fix that. The poem not only allows for me to spell "What" like a teen texting a pimple faced pal, it also allows for a tidy segue to more pressing issues; that being, Grey Pinot of course.

 

 This is a grape variety that the French call Pinot Gris, and the Italians call Pinot Grigio. The "Pinot" prefix takes it's name from the fact that the bunches reminded someone of a pine cone, many years ago. To generalise, and honestly, there is no better way to talk about wine, the French make a fuller, richer, and sometimes sweeter style of wine from the grape. The Italians make a leaner, less ripe and more mineral expression of the grape. Simply, the French pick the grapes later and the Italians pick the grapes earlier. The confusion begins when New World winemakers - those in places like Australia and New Zealand - ignore the history of the styles, and call it whatever they like regardless of the style they have made, richer or leaner. Such decisions in modern markets seem to be based on marketing and which moniker is easier to pronounce, and therefore easier for the consumer to order. As it stands, the measure of any good wine is whether or not is tastes like it should; and I don't mean whether it tastes more like wine than biscuits, I mean it should taste like Pinot Grigio if it says Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris, if it says Pinot Gris! To find out what you like to drink, and "wot", is in fact "in a name", take a look at the following.

 

2009 Pizzini Pinot Grigio from the King Valley, is the best Pinot Grigio in the land. Happily it won't break the bank either, costing around $20. The Pizzini is fine and lean, with green pear and hay, lovely mineral river pebble notes, and lemon citrus. The wine is beautifully fresh and a stunning and accurately labelled Pinot Grigio.

 

2009 Rabbit Ranch Pinot Gris, Central Otago, NZ. $22. The wine is spot on for a Gris style. The nose is luscious, hinting at honey and  pineapple with notes of jasmine. The palate is rich, there is residual sugar (although it is not a sweet wine) and finishes crisply with refreshing acid and a slight chalkiness. It's delicious and mouth watering.

 

Should past versions of randomly chosen Gris or Grigio left you wanting, find these wines and make the discovery for yourself. It's a lesson well worth your learning.