It's a quaint and not altogether satisfying descriptor but "alternative varieties" seems to have some public acceptance when people want to talk about grape varieties that are not mainstream. We all know what these mainstream varieties are--you can see them in any bottle shop, any restaurant wine list and indeed on the counter at Squitchy Lane. And they are mainstream because they have proven themselves capable of providing great wine when grown in the right place, in the right way and very good wine in most other places.
Let's not forget, however, that there are several thousand grape varieties that can be used to make wine. Some are great, some good, many ordinary and some downright poor. Many are hardly known outside their regional homes, many are in danger of extinction and many perhaps have yet to show their true colours.
I am writing this blog after a recent trip to France where I had the opportunity to taste many great wines, visit some famous chateaux and indulge in the gastronomic treasure that is France. All this was wonderful but two vinous memories linger above all else--the first removed a prejudice I had held unreasonably for too long and the second featured the discovery of a variety I had only heard about.
The prejudice concerned Cabernet Franc from the Loire--many of these that I had tasted in Australia were green, hard, thin and often marred by Brettanomyces. On my second day in France I was in Saumur, the famous equestrian town on the Loire River. At dinner that night I chose a wine from Saumur-Champigny, a small appellation in a privileged position on a small plateau above the Loire. It was an excellent wine--smooth, rich, generous and as the back label said "charnu" which I interpret as fleshy. I chased down some more Saumur-Champigny wines and was never less than impressed. What's more, the price was right--no more than 10-12 euros a bottle and often less. One less prejudice and a more open-minded view of wine!
The alternative variety was the name in the title of this blog--Fer Servadou. This grape has a reasonably wide spread across the south of France and in particular, the south-west, but it is not common anywhere except in the small appellation of Marcillac. Here it is the chief red grape with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot allowed to be used.
The origin of the name is poetically linked to the hardness of the vine's wood, likened to iron. However, an alternative and probably more likely explanation suggests that the name comes from the Latin "ferus" meaning wild or savage (see the excellent "Wine Grapes" by Robinson, Harding and Vouillamoz for more information).
(Terraced vineyards of Marcillac)
No matter what the origin of the name, there is no doubting the quality of the wine. It's full of fruit (raspberry, redcurrant and some more black fruit characters in the riper versions), vibrant, never heavy and always eminently drinkable. It was certainly thus at our 5-course, 15 euro lunch one rainy day in a "routier" near Marcillac (itself a beautiful and unusual region). The experts talk about a certain "rusticity" in the wines although I have to confess i am not at all sure what that means. The sense seems to be that it is not entirely a negative but it is certainly not a real positive. More tasting on my part is needed.
Some limited research indicates that Fer Servadou is growing in popularity and that growers in Marcillac are committed to increasing quality. I am all for that and hope to talk about some other interesting varieties in this blog. It's a wonderful world of wine out there....
Things are really moving along with the cellar door upgrade, as these pictures reveal...
If all goes well, we'll be in by Easter....
Well, a bit late but here are my predictions for 2014--the trends, the successes, the failures and the new directions for the wine industry (in no particular order):
1. Pinot Noir will continue its growth. There is likely to be a shortage of serious Pinot from the cooler areas of Australia and we might even see the large companies step back into the ring.. Judging from our experience at cellar door, it's the younger drinkers who are at the forefront of this Pinot trend.
2. Good Burgundy will finally become unaffordable (if it isn't already) to anyone except hedge fund managers, Colombian drug barons and Premier League stars (did you see the item in last week's paper that Sergio Aguero of Manchester City earns around $430,000 per week?). Treasure any bottles you may already have and remember fondly those that you have consumed in the past.
3. The popularity of Prosecco will continue to increase. This may be disturbing news for those of you who prefer wines with some sort of flavour. Get used to seeing it by the glass in trendy restaurants, by the bottle at social barbeques and by the floorstack in our friendly supermarket liquor outlets.
4. 2014 will be a lean year for Australian grapes. Crops will be down in almost all regions due to drought and heatwaves. However, this won't lead to a rise in prices. There is still too much wine in the system, export volumes are in trouble and domestic consumption remains static.
5. Medical experts will continue to demonise all forms of alcohol while the wine industry spruikers will continue to declare that wine is different. And they are right.
6. Denmark in Western Australia will become the next "in" wine region. Just a pity it's so far away from anywhere.
7. The drinking trends will be craft beer, expensive spirits combined with artisan mixers, craft beer, cider and craft beer. What consitutes craft beer will become an increasingly divisive conflict for those of you who care.
8. The Australian dollar will fall, giving exporters some hope of improved sales. They will need to move fast to overcome the negative image of Australian wine overseas. The falling dollar may also stem the flood of cheap imported wine.
9. Low calorie/low alcohol wine sales will improve. The quality of such wines will not.
10. Small, family-owned wineries will continue to struggle as the supermarket chains and the large producers continue to offer good wines at prices that don't even begin to cover the costs of production of these small makers. It's a tough business.......
At last, we have commenced the renovations to our cellar door. We are expanding into the space next to the existing cellar door, currently occupied by a slasher and ride-on mower along with assorted work-benches and other tools.
If all goes according to plan, we should have this completed by Easter. We are keeping it simple--just a good-sized room with a large deck outside overlooking the vineyard (in our current cellar door, this wonderful view can't be appreciated), some simple furniture and the usual Squitchy hospitality.
The recent hot weather caused us some grief in the vineyard but fortunately, it came early and the grapes were not really developed enough to suffer much. This season is proving as confusing as all the recent years--very cold at the beginning which resulted in poor set in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, very hot in January and who knows what's coming in February.....
In any case, we would love to see you at our new cellar door in April.
Just a few highlights from the last twelve months....
And season's greetings and best wishes to everyone for the holiday season.
It has been a rather cool start to the growing season this year. Probably no cooler than normal, if I looked up the records but we just haven't had much warmth to get the vines moving. They are growing, of course, as they must and they look in general good health but there are one or two things that worry us.
The first is flowering in the cool, damp conditions that prevail. Here's a shot of a Pinot Noir bunch and you can see the beginnings of flower formation.
You can also see the brown caps over some of the flowers. If the weather is damp, these caps can become sodden and the emerging flowers are unable to push them off. The result is that no berry forms. This can have a significant effect on yield.
Here's a shot of one of our young olive trees--maybe the same thing is happening here also:
Today, the weather is warm and sunny. This will definitely help the varieties that are yet to begin flowering--the Cabernets and Merlot--and it will certainly assist the others to shrug off the effects of the cooler weather.
Here's a young Cabernet Franc bunch, still in its infancy:
It's on again--the famous Squitchy Lane sausage sizzle. This time, it's our winter celebration--and what better time to tuck into a sizzling sausage, straight from the barbeque, accompanied by a glass of Squitchy Lane wine.
WHEN: 6 JULY 2013
WHERE: SQUITCHY LANE CELLAR DOOR
MEDHURST ROAD, GRUYERE VIC 3770
TIME: 12 noon to 3.00 PM
Please RSVP to info@squitchylane.com.au
We look forward to seeing you there.
