Off The Beaten Track Mixed

You may be most familiar with this grape for the part it plays in the classic Champagne blend, however as demonstrated here it can make incredibly drinkable red-fruit-driven red wines too. This comes from 20 year old vines in the cool Yarra Valley, which have been made into sparkling wine for most of their lives! This wine is very light red, almost bordering a dark rosé and is an outstanding pick-me-up aperitif and perfectly smashable! The incredible perfume has been given extra lift thanks to a little whole bunch bringing a hint of peppery herbaceousness. The nose is overflowing with freshly crushed strawberry and raspberry, with a light, crisp palate, reminiscent of raspberry sorbet. Lightly chill and drink instead of an Aperol spritz or cold beer for a glass of fun and rewarding refreshment. Please note that this wine is unfiltered and may be cloudy or contain a little sediment, which is perfectly normal and part of its charm.

This unusal blend of palomino, pinot gris, muscat, chardonnay, and viognier creates a refreshing yet full California wine with peach, nectarine and tropical flavours and a very soft finish, perfect for a luxurious fish pie, with a few scallops in the mix.

This is a lovely, crisp, dry, fruity white made from an unusual mix of pinot blanc, riesling and sauvignon. This German blend is perfect with south-east Asian cooking

Prince Ştirbey is the only producer of this Romanian grape, a cross of local negru with saperavi. Ripe but fresh with juicy red-fruit flavours and a note of spice and pepper. This has been a consistently excellent wine for years and shows the great potential for fine wines in Romania.

Dogliani is the Italian home of the dolcetto grape. Its wild strawberry and red-cherry fruit, fresh medium-body and hint of graphite on the finish make it a near-perfect pizza wine and a Wine Champion in 2022.

Made from the clairette grape with a little viognier, this is a full-flavoured white Rhône with complex flavours that hint at peach, aniseed, honeysuckle and a touch of citrus. It is creamy in the 2021 vintage, but the relatively high elevation in the Ventoux does wonders for freshness.

Csilla and Csaba Sebestyén are pioneering a new, fresher, lighter style of Szekszárdi Bikavér and their Mozaik blend is one of the finest. Highly perfumed with hits of tobacco, cherries and redcurrants with refreshing acidity and light tannins, this seductive Hungarian red is delicious lightly chilled.

Pure, bright and juicy xinomavro bursting with red fruits, sundried tomato and herbaceous undertones. The 2021 of this ever-popular Greek red includes some whole-bunch fermentation adding extra spice and freshness. A delicious anyday red that is best served lightly chilled.

Slovenian red that is mellow on the nose with plummy red fruit notes and a twist of black pepper. The fruit shows maturity but the tension of the wine gives the impression it is far younger. The palate is mid-weight, fresh and focused with nice plummy, sour cherry notes. Fun and something a little different given the age.

This is a spicy, crisp and dry Slovenian take on furmint, which shows white berry and lanolin on the nose. The palate is focused and fresh with notes of melon, lemon and elderflower. Cloudy lemonade on the finish makes this tart and delicious.

An excellent modern expression of Georgian white, made from around a third each of native grapes Kisi, Mtsvane and Rkatsiteli, fermented in stainless steel tanks. Pure and fresh on the nose, with floral notes and pear. The palate is crisp, with apple and kiwi fruits.

Henri Ramonteu’s Béarnais blend of gros and petit manseng with camaralet, courbu and lauzet grapes is a bone-dry, full-bodied white with a zesty, grapefruit fragrance that works well with strong hard cheese, salmon or trout, or fish pie.