Sagrantino is the specail red grape variety of Umbria in Italy. It makes fruity juicy red wines with oodles of tannin and structure.
A few innovative Australian wineries are producing wines from this variety, and the results so far have been quite promising. You can find out more by checking out the Sagrantino Sessions events in McLaren Vale below.
List of australian wineries using Sagrantino can be found at http://www.vinodiversity.com/sagrantino.html
Update Thursday 4 August Souma Savarro voted People's Choice as best white wine at Awards showcase.
Two alternative wines won accolades at the Federation Squre Regional Wine Showcase last night (3 Aug 2011)
Banrock Station in the Riverland region produce wine from a number of interesting varieties. - Faino and Savagnin. These varieties will play a huge role in the future of Australia's wine industry so why not try some to see what the fuss is about.
At the moment Vinodiversity's wine supply partner has some of theie wine on special. A couple of offers caught my eye caught my eye.
They have Fiano and Savagnin, both 2009 vintage, on sale at the bargain price of Just $13.95 per bottle. Use the links below to check out the details.
http://www.vinodiversity.com/banrockfiano
http://www.vinodiversity.com/banrocksavagnin
Why not order one or a mixed case!
Artwine in the Clare valley like alternative varieties but they are not hung up on jst varietal wines. They have wine kusos for their ArtWine Tres Amigos 2009 - a blend of three Spanish varieties - Tempranillo (60%), Graciano (30%) and Garnacha (10%).
Myth 1. Durif is a Rutherglen variety
Durif is a best known by its Rutherglen connection. But of the 83 wineries in my database who make wine from Durif only 18 are in the the Rutherglen region. see Vinodiversity's page on durif in Australia
Myth 2. Durif wines are all big wines with high tannins
Not neccessarily! Don Crane of All Saints Wines likes to make more approachable styles. You can read his views in this article by Jeni Port from the Age Epicure on 12/07/11
For a counter argument about how to make wine from durif see this article by Andrew Sutherland Smith of Warrabilla wines/
Myth 3. Durif can only be used in warm climates
Vale wines in the Mornington Peninsula don't agree and they have the proof in a bottle. You don't often see the word elegant when people write about Durif. See the article Cool Climate Durif ? You must be kidding!
All Saints Winery in Rutherglen
Looking forward to this month's Fed Square Showcase, the last for this cycle. Next month is the annual awards night.
The wineries will be from the Bendigo, Heathcote, Sunbury, Murray Darling and Swan Hill regions.
I'll be there with my maps of Italy, Spain & Portugal and France - as well as the Vinodiversity book plus De Lon's Wine Grape Varietal Table -a ll on display and for sale.
Image of the France map. it measures 660X990 mm.
If you can't come and buy them you can order them for post from vinodiversity.com
Fed square wine Showcase
4-30pm - 8-30pm Wed and Thurdsay 6 and 7 July.
Details at http://www.fedsquare.com/index.cfm?pageID=74
See you there, come for a chat, or to buy some maps or a book.
A readers question about substitute for Madiera wine in a recipe reamins one of the most entry popular pages on my site.
http://www.vinodiversity.com/substitute-for-madeira-wine.html
If you have a question of your own you can ask Vinodiversity
Susumainello is a red wine variety used around Brindisi in the Italian Region of Puglia.
I enjoyed a bottle today with a lunch of skewer grilled chicken, some mushrooms cooked with garlic and spinach and a simple risotto.
Susumainello is not used in Australia, at least to my knowledge. It is one of a number of indigenous varieties in Puglia that are receiving more attention as part of the modernising wine industry there.
This wine features a donkey on the label, a reference to the belief that the name of the variety refers to a well laden donkey. Susumanilello grapes are apparently high yielders.
