During a recent presentation on the wines of Manchuela, a Spanish wine region of which she admits to be entirely ignorant when she wrote her first few wine books is a case in point that addresses the question, ‘if you're developing a new wine region, or trying to build the reputation of an old one, how do you go about deciding which grape varieties to plant?’
Finca Sandoval, established in 2001 by a fellow writer for the Meininger Wine Business International in Germany, Victor de la Serna, is seriously trying to put Manchuela on the world map. He initially turned his back on the local variety and favoured an international variety as was in fashion during the later part of the last century.
Instead of producing the local Bobal, he concentrated on Syrah, Garnacha (Grenache) and Monastrell (known as Mourvedre in France), the later two varieties being common to Spain but less common to the region of La Mancha where Bobal is the ubiquitous grape but not too much in fashion. He has now come round to Bobal, and has launched a wine based on 70-year-old Bobal vines, says Jancis in her article.
At the London presentation of Manchuela wines, de la Serna proclaimed, "Spain has three great native red varieties, Garnacha in the north, Monastrell in the south and in the middle Bobal, which is not as refined as the other two but is much better than it is given credit for." (I would like to add Tempranillo, giving some great wines from Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Toro and Navarra on top of that list though-editor)
Bobal makes big, muscular but aromatic wines - always a little rustic thanks to its tendency to ripen unevenly, but with no shortage of mouth-filling fruit. It is planted mostly in Manchuela and the neighbouring Utiel-Requena. One of the ambitious new Manchuela bodegas, Ponce, makes nothing but Bobal. In contrast, Altolandón, with vineyards as high as 3,600 feet, has turned its back on Bobal completely, using only international varietals, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
Who is right, wonders Ms Robinson, commenting, ‘the two major factors normally govern the choice of grape variety: local conditions and what is easy to sell. I would argue that the worldwide trend at the moment is definitively away from the well-known international varieties in favour of more exotic varieties. If those unusual varieties are by any chance indigenous "heritage varieties," then extra points are scored. All over Europe, traditional varieties are being rediscovered.’
‘One of the first French regions to understand the value of this was Gascony, where 20 years ago the cooperatives began to recover nearly extinct local varieties as Pinenc, Aruffiac and Petit Courbu.’ Today some of their most expensive wines are based on these varieties, she writes.
‘Throughout Italy, curious wine producers have been reviving dozens of that country's rich heritage of native grape varieties, so much so that each time one is announced it sends a shiver down my spine,’ she writes.
DelWine and the Indian Wine Academy have been great supporters and promoters of the autochthonous (as the indigenous varieties are known her) grape varieties in Italy, Spain and other regions. Not only does this give them a USP in the highly competitive world market, it offers unique flavours to those wine connoisseurs who are tired of coke and chardonnay.
Australia is already showing the trend away from the major international varieties and well-known wine writers like Dan Traucki regularly promote what he calls the alternative varieties. The latest Australian vineyard survey recorded that plantings of 16 alternative varieties accounted for more than 5 percent of Australia's total area under vine; these specialty vines, for instance the Italian Barbera and Nebbiolo and the Spanish Tempranillo, are seen as giving the Australian wine industry an innovative edge, adds Jancis whose website you can visit for details.
Another delicious example is available in Austria where all three most popular and Noble white varietals Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc have done very well. But the star grape has turned out to be Grüner Veltliner, a variety as Austrian as Mozart, Schubert and Strauss. Several tastings at the Austrian Wine Summit organised by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board last week showcased several other interesting white exotic varieties like Neuburger, Muskat Ottinel, Rotgipfler etc as well.
Even in the red varietal for which Austria cannot yet claim superiority over its wine producing neighbours, have some very interesting Rosé wines, known as Schilcher in Styria and made from the local grape Blauer Wildbacher. Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt, a cross between the former and the French variety St. Laurent, have been making waves in the international tastings during the last few years. In fact, the 2006 Blaufränkisch from Weingut Moric in the Burgenland created a history of sorts when it was awarded 95 points by Robert Parker in 2007, highest for a red wine from Austria so far.
Jancis suggests that in 2009 the use of indigenous varieties is the key to the particular path to viticultural enlightenment and genuine variety.
Subhash Arora |