John Szabo
Every new vintage changes the world’s winescape. Winners and losers are fashioned by weather, wine trends and market whims. New regions distinguish themselves, classics are re-established or plummet in popularity. What was new becomes old and what was unknown becomes hot. It’s my job to track those changes, and here’s a short list of next year’s countries, regions and wines to watch.
Canada
Loyal readers are already tuned in to great Canadian wine, but this year saw some major upheavals that will change things for the better still. First there was the CIC debacle. In case you missed it, the ball got rolling when the story was broken that Vincor, our largest wine company and official sponsor for the Vancouver Olympics, would be passing off non-Canadian wine to unsuspecting consumers using the perfectly legal but devilishly misleading “Cellared in Canada” designation for their Olympic wine, Esprit. These wines can contain up to 70% foreign grapes and still qualify as “Cellared in Canada”, which appears to all but the seriously pedantic as “Canadian” wine. Major embarrassment for Vincor, Olympic organizers, and Canada. They’ve since agreed to put only VQA (100% local) wine into Esprit.
But the PR fiasco, along with irreconcilable differences with 100% VQA producers, have led Vincor and the 6 other major companies dependent on CIC revenues to withdraw from the Wine Council of Ontario, the industry’s promotional organization. With them goes 20% of the WCO’s promotional budget. But the WCO may finally be cured of its split personality disorder, the mutually exclusive agendas of satisfying both the gods of CIC (more powerful) and VQA (only demi-gods, financially). Now the WCO can get down to promoting local juice exclusively. Labeling and signage in provincial monopoly stores will also be tidied up (a clear separation between VQA and ‘international blends’), and consumers will finally no longer (we hope) be duped. Now we can focus on our great Canadian wines; check out wineaccess.ca for the results of the 2009 Canadian Wine Awards.
South Africa
FIFA World Cup fever hits South Africa next June, when the world’s attention will be squarely focused on the Cape. Local wine producers know that this is their 15 minutes, so expect dozens of over-delivering values from the bottom to the top shelf. If you’re traveling to see the Cup, you can have wines matched up with the Big 5 game animals. Yes, that’s right. Wines of South Africa has undertaken to train 2010 front line servers by 2010 to deliver the message of SA wine to football fans, a tall order, considering that few locals have any wine knowledge. But WOSA has devised a clever training program in which the major grapes are compared with African animals to make wine more accessible, a way of teaching that makes sense to the African wine un-educated. Doesn’t cabernet sauvignon remind you of elephants? Huge, thick hide, lives for a long-time, long backbone, king of animals… Or Shiraz, the rhino of the wine world, the feisty, spicy one with the horn…
South Africa is already known as a source of hot values, from the traditional areas of Stellenbosch and Franshhoek to more cutting edge regions like the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Elgin, and the dry-farmed vineyards of Swartland. I’m betting on crisp sauvignon blanc, characterful chenin Blanc and innovative Rhône-style red and white blends to win the crowds over.
Portugal
Dog stranglers, fly droppings, little rats, sheep’s tails and bastards are just a few of the over 350 evocatively-named grapes from this sliver of the Iberian Peninsula to try out. Remember that Portugal pretty much checked out of the 20th century politically speaking, and thus thankfully avoided the industrialization and globalization that took place in the rest of post-war Europe. Chard, cab and co. are thankfully just footnotes in vineyard registers here, and indigenous grapes have pride of place. Some of the vineyards in traditional areas like the Douro Valley and Dão look as though they haven’t changed in a century. Maybe that’s because they haven’t. Ancient vines in mixed plantations, the way grandpa used to do it, means that distinctive, uniquely flavoured and densely concentrated wines are commonplace, and sold at no-name (or at least, what-the-hell-is-that?) pricing. Look to Vinho Verde for vibrant, sashimi and ceviche-friendly whites, Dão for finely etched, elegant reds, The Douro Valley for massively concentrated beauties (and of course port), and Alentejo and the Sétubal Peninsula for pocket-friendly, internationally appealing red and whites. And stop worrying about which bloody grapes and their precise percentages are in each blend. Many producers don’t know, and don’t care. All I care about is whether it tastes good and if it’s worth the money (yes is the answer to both generally).
John’s Essential Vintages Essentials:
2007 Hillebrand Trius Red, Niagara Peninsula, $21.95
2007 Malivoire Chardonnay Estate, Beamsville Bench, $19.95
2006 Cave Spring Indian Summer Select Late Harvest Riesling, Niagara Peninsula, $24.95/375ml
2007 Goats do Roam Red, Costal Region, South Africa, $12.95
2008 Crasto Vinho Tinto, Douro Valley, Portugal $14.95
2006 Quinta dos Carvalhais Duque de Viseu Dão Tinto, Portugal, $13.95
2006 Esporão Tinto Reserva, Alentejo, Portugal, $24.95
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