The mystery of alternative varieties, perhaps better said as non-mainstream, will hold the attention of the serious drinker till days end. Consider there are some 80 varieties that can be used in Portugal to make port. Since fewer and fewer of us drink port the wine makers are discovering which make the best red wines. And so it is that around the Mediterranean basin there must be thousands of varieties that make good table wine.
This Nero d’Avola is from Sicily and what led an Eden Valley grower to try their hand I have no idea. We can be pleased that growers and winemakers want to experiment. I add that the wines of Sicily are gaining favour partly because the many varieties provide keen drinkers with new tastes.
Go back a step and there is another reason. Over the last 15 years professional winemakers arrived to live in Sicily which transformed the defective wines of old. One was Carlo Corino a greatly underappreciated winemaker who came to Australia from Italy to work at Montrose in Mudgee. He later retuned to Italy and chose Sicily, becoming one of many that transformed the wine quality. I think Carlo would be pleased with this Australian take on the native grape.
Alcohol at 14.7%.
