Below is a list of grape varieties, regions, appellations and styles that roar with character and quality. These are lesser known on the international wine market. The list is based on tastings made during past decades and does not include specific wines or wineries.
Grenache Wines From Outskirts of Madrid
The outskirts of the Madrid metropolis of Spain includes several wine sub regions, including Arganda, Navalcarnero and San Martín de Valdeiglesias (El Molar was also added in 2019). These comprise ‘Vinos de Madrid.’ As I wrote in 2018, “This is a land of pig farms and rambling goats, wild boars, olive orchards, granite slopes and alluring views of the Sierra de Gredos mountain range.” There are some fifty wineries here, growing mainly Grenache grapes, followed by Tempranillo. What is surprising is how many of these Grenache wines highlight finesse over power; many are unusually light and some share subtle qualities reminiscent of Pinot Noir from Burgundy.
Hilly region south of Madrid, Spain
Tom Mullen
Carignan Wines from Southern Sardinia
Carignan wines from Sant’Antioco Island (sub-island of the Italian isle of Sardinia) can be perfumed, rich, layered and with savage aromas of scrub, as well as of lava cake, black cherries and meaty flavors. They also include suave tannins well integrated with fruit. As I wrote after visiting, “Ripe rich dark fruit flavors—think Sangiovese with the heft of a Syrah.” The local Carignan also pairs well with fish, and when that pairing is with local red tuna in season? Outrageous.
Areni Noir Wines from Armenia
From more than 400 indigenous varieties grown in the country, 31 grapes are grown to make wine. Areni Noir (or Areni) dominates. As I wrote many years ago, “Wine made from the Areni grape is a bit of a chameleon—think Merlot blended with Pinot Noir, or Syrah merging with the swimming energy of an Ökügözü. Areni can lilt and seduce, or shout and command. Think cherries and spice: the kick of a Carménère with the confident ease and gentle structure of a Beaujolais cru. Here is both grit and velvet, zest and sweetness, versatility and confidence. It’s more quietly seductive than overtly flirtatious. It’s Penny Lane by the Beatles rather than Rolling Stone’s Satisfaction, lamb chops more than grilled sirloin—but only slightly so. More right bank than left bank Bordeaux, more Rhône Valley than Cahors.”
Areni wines pair well with Mediterranean fare and grilled meats.
Azorean White Wines Paired with Seafood
I vacationed in the Azores during a winter week in 2009 and sampled their racy white wines. Since then, white wine production from this collection of nine islands has increased 1,500%. The stunning mid Atlantic Portuguese isle of Pico produces white wines from the Arinto, Verdelho and Terrantez do Pico grapes (with descending levels of acidity in that order) as well as from Fernão Pires grapes. These pair well with seafood—whether limpets, octopus, shrimp, barnacles or fish: amberjack, tuna, swordfish, wreckfish, seabream or golden grouper.
Rock wall enclosed vineyards of Pico, Azores, Portugal
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White Wines from Mount Etna, Sicily
In the last ten years the production of white wines along the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna has increased by over 117% to rival the volume of the well-known red wines (made predominantly from Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio grapes). For whites, the Carricante grape dominates, and is often blended with Cataratto—which can provide floral aromas. Carricante’s acidity makes it suitable for formidable aging, and after two years in bottle many of these wines rapidly develop caramelized notes—similar to those of Timorasso grapes from the Piedmont region of Italy. The attraction of these whites, according to winemaker Alberto Graci, is that, “They can have sweetness with a salty expression, structure without softness and have acidity but not be acidic wines.”
Sweet Wines of Monbazillac, France
Sweet wines from Sauternes in southwest France are deservedly renowned for richness and aging potential. Yet sixty miles (100 kilometers) to the northeast, near Bergerac, sweet wines produced around the town of Monbazillac (in an appellation of the same name, established in 1936) are well priced and often delicious. This region, overlooked during the famed 1855 Bordeaux wine classification, has soils with less limestone than Sauternes and receives less rainfall. Its multiple steep valleys are conducive to damp and misty mornings, partially due to the presence of the Dordogne and Gardonette rivers. This allows botrytis cinerea fungus, or ‘noble rot’ to grow on grapes, which sucks moisture from them, causing them to shrivel and concentrating acidity and sugars. Aromas of Monbazillac wines are general floral, fruity and honeyed, and flavors can include vanilla and toast from barrel aging. Semillon grapes dominate, while Muscadelle can add spice or mint and Sauvignon Blanc bolsters acidity. Treat yourself to a sweet Monbazillac treat at an affordable price.
Cooperative Wines of Terlan and Andriano in Northern Italy
Strictly enforced rules for grape growers in two cooperatives in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, over a period of 130 years, resulted in the collective production of high quality wines within the region. The cooperatives merged in 2008 to become Cantina Terlano. Growers are paid well by the cooperative if the quality of their grapes is high, and metrics are constantly used to monitor outputs from 70 producers. “We’re sort of a luxury coop,” explained Klaus Gasser, the cooperative’s sales and marketing director, when we spoke three years ago. Wines are predominantly made from Pinot Bianco, followed by Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Aged Terlaner wines can be stunning—with delicate aromas that include white pears and yellow apples and creamy flavors that include rich caramel on the finish. As I previously wrote, these wines can include “…the finesse of a Sauternes and the delicate fruit of a Friuli.”
Vineyards in Alto Adige, Italy.
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Swiss Wines
This general heading includes a vast array of wines, but what makes Swiss wines unique is that the country exports less than 2% of its production. The country has six wine regions and 240 grape varieties, although four grapes (Pinot Noir, Chasselas, Gamay and Merlot) constitute the bulk of what is harvested. The lesser known grape of Petit Arvine from the Swiss Valais region is also a treat—fruity, floral with minerality and salinity. Chasselas white wine can include aromas of florals, apples and honey; Merlot from the south is often fine and elegant. Other grapes used to produce excellent Swiss wines are Humagne Rouge and Diolinoir and the Freiburger grape—which is so rare that no wines made from this grape are exported.
Pecorino and Cerasuolo White and Rosé Wines From Abruzzo, Italy
Abruzzo in eastern Italy is known for its whites made from Trebbiano d’Abruzzo and its reds made from Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. Lesser known are the white wines made from Pecorino—which can include zesty acidity and can display precise yet also creamy characteristics. Pecorino flavors may be of green apples, nectarines, butter, wild mint and salinity.
The dark rosé wines known as ‘cerasuolo’ (cherry-like) made from at least 85% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo grapes (which are intensely pigmented) are produced using short maceration and can display aromas of cherries and roses. Cerasuolo is versatile for food pairing—consider lamb shish kebab or fish soup.
Vineyard and town of Capestrano in Abruzzo, Italy
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