Other countries making wine years ago and still going strong
AUSTRIA
Austria has the largest vineyard area within a city with 1,600 acres of vineyards in Vienna! It means Austria has a thriving, lively wine culture you need to experience – put it on the bucket list while you’re passing through Germany.
Here are a few classic Austrian wine examples:
- Grüner Veltliner (‘grooner vet-leener’) – Spicy, herbaceous light-bodied white wines with high acidity. Think about them as similar to Sauvignon Blanc with a zap of peppery spice.
- Zweigelt (‘zswy-gelt’) – Light-bodied red wines with loads of tart red fruit flavours. Zweigelt makes for fabulous dry rosé wines as well as chilled summer reds.
- Gemischer Satz (‘ghem-meesh-ter sahtz’) – Served in Vienna at the local Heuriger (the wine bar equivalent to a casual tavern), these white wines are a blend of grapes including Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, and Pinot Blanc.
- Blaufränkisch – (‘blau-frank-eesh’) Medium-bodied red wines with blueberry and spice. The best wines tend to come from regions within Burgenland bordering Hungary.
- Saint Laurent – Shockingly similar to Pinot Noir. Another fascinating red wine in Austria that’s much harder to find but well worth the search.
Did you know? Hock – The term ‘hock’ was coined by the British for German white wine (namely Riesling). English glassblowers during the 1700s specialised in making elaborate coloured glass goblets which were much smaller in serving size than what we use today. The most classic colour for these glasses is a rich hunter green.
ITALY
Sicily is a huge island, with 23 DOCs and one DOCG (Italy’s official quality wine designations). First, we’ll cover the main wine region, Sicilia DOC. There are 23 wine appellations into Sicily’s three historic regions, the Three Valleys to seek out, but not today.
Sicily is Italy’s largest wine region at 242,000 vineyard acres (98,000 hectares). The two most planted grapes are Catarratto and Nero d’Avola.
34% of Sicily’s vineyards are organic.
Sicily is home to more than 65 native varieties. The best known are Grillo, Nero d’Avola, Catarratto, Carricante, Nerello Mascalese, and Frappato.
Vineyards sit as high as 1,200m above sea level. That’s 25% of the way up Mont Blanc!
Etna Bianco
Revered by the ancient Greeks as a winegrowing area, Etna fell into decline centuries ago. But over the past decade winemakers have worked to realise Etna’s tremendous potential, focusing on native grapes, growing conditions, and terroir. 2011 saw the revitalisation of an old system of geographical divisions called ‘contrade.’ This allows listing the name of a ‘contrada’ when all grapes come from one of the registered subzones.
Tasting Notes: Intense, but understated. Etna Bianco has a real complexity despite its lighter body. Pronounced mineral and smoke with a hint of jasmine. Racy acidity and notes of mandarin orange, prickly pear, and bitter melon, along with a moderately long finish with a soft ashy ending.
Origins: Etna is the tallest volcano in Europe and one of the most active stratovolcanoes in the world. Etna’s volcanic soil varies according to the mix of different materials and the age/degree of decomposition. High altitude and warm Mediterranean breezes mitigate hot southern temperatures.
Food Pairings: Tuna carpaccio, grilled chicken with herbs, caponata, cured olives, and hard cheeses.
Regions with grape varieties in Sicily
- Sicilia DOC: This region covers the entirety of the island and the local grapes – Nero d’Avola, Frappato, Catarratto (often called Lucido), Grillo, and more. Cultivating these grapes within Sicilia are world-renowned wineries like Planeta and Donnafugata. Explore Sicilia to uncover some of the finest wines in the Mediterranean.
- Grillo: A white wine grape producing elegant and zesty wines, Grillo (‘Gree-low’) is an excellent pairing to pasta and seafood.
- Cusumano: A high-altitude vineyard in the Sicilia DOC that cultivates grapes with high acidity, ideal for producing high-quality traditional sparkling wines.
GREECE
In the ancient world, Greece was once one of the foremost producers of wine. However, in contrast to the country’s important wine heritage, modern Greek wines are only recently reaching the rest of the world. These days, Greece offers outstanding wine value and new varieties to expand your palate! Be surprised if your not tried these wines but also be assured they are as good as taste.
The most popular Greek wines
- Assyrtiko – one of the top wines in Greece, produced all over the country. Assyrtiko’s most impressive region is its place of origin on the island of Santorini. This is a lean white wine with passionfruit, flint, and lemon flavours, subtle bitterness, and saltiness on the finish. Assyrtiko, labelled as Nykteri (‘nith-terry’) are always oaked and offer more lemon brûlée, pineapple, fennel, cream, and baked pie crust notes.
- Moschofilero
- Malagousia
- Savatiano
- Retsina – from Central Greece. This specialty of Greece is a white wine infused with the sap of the Allepo pine tree. Retsina wines have aromas of linseed oil and lime peel that lead into flavours of apples and roses, with a subtle piney, saline finish. Retsina wines made with Assyrtiko grapes tend to be more angular in their style (but age longer.) In contrast, Retsina wines made with Savatiano grapes have a more generous taste with ripe apple and peach flavours, and an oily texture on the palate. Only eight producers know what they’re doing with this wine, so choose wisely!
- Agiorgitiko
- Xinomavro – is being hailed as ‘The Barolo of Greece’, where it grows in the regions Naoussa and Amyndeo because the wine can taste strikingly similar to Nebbiolo with dark cherry fruit, licorice, allspice, and occasionally subtle tomato notes with high-tannin and medium-plus acidity. In Naoussa, vineyards are located predominantly on limestone-rich clay soils (marl), which gives this region’s Xinomavro wines additional structure (tannin) and bolder fruit characteristics. These are good wines for the cellar!
- Rapsani red wines
- Crete red wines
- Vinsanto – Also on Santorini Island, you’ll find Vinsanto, a sweet sun-dried wine that smells more like red wine even though it’s made with Assyrtiko, Aidani, and Athiri white grapes! The white grape Malagousia is a more recent discovery after being single-handedly resurrected by a winery in Northern Greece called Ktima Gerovassiliou (the word ktima is like saying ‘estate’ or ‘chateau’). These wines offer a richer white wine style, almost like a cross between Viognier and Chardonnay, with peach, lime, and orange blossom and lemon oil all tied together with a soft, fruity finish. These wines have aromas of raspberry, raisin, dried apricots, maraschino cherries, and sometimes paint thinner (from higher levels of volatile acidity – e.g. the ‘nail polish’ smell). Even though the smell is arresting at first, you’ll be seduced by the contrasting sweet fruit and bitter flavours caused by the wine’s noticeable tannins (a surprise for white wine!).
- Muscat of Samos
- Mavrodaphne
So, a very quick run around of some the most interesting grape varieties from around the world. Stop just going for the same old wines over and over again – it’s very boring! Try, explore, and enjoy new flavours. There are no excuses not to try these wines.
Michael Quirk
National Wine Educator