The Next Big Thing: Region-Specific Whites

The future of wine is connection — between winemakers and the land, winemakers and consumers. The future of wine is freedom — freedom from brand restrictions and expensive facilities; the freedom to experience new grapes and wine styles. The future of wine depends on the return of the artisanal craft of winemaking and the unique experience of sharing your wine experiences with friends. The future of wine is all this and more...

In recent years, more and more wine drinkers have overcome their “I’m sorry, I don’t like white” hesitations and discovered the variety of white wines available in the market — a variety that for too long has been sadly limited to the old stalwarts, including sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot gris. Consumers have not only become comfortable with the varietals, they are now becoming bored. It is no longer enough to branch out by trying a pinot blanc from France, rather than New Zealand. Wine lovers are beginning to seek a more unique and varied experience.

Now that white wine has an invigorated fan base, the next big thing that will emerge into the wine mainstream is a focus on authenticity. We will see a number of varietals that never really caught the consumer’s eye in the past now coming to the fore. While virtually every wine drinker is familiar with sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot gris, which are widely planted around the globe, tastes are moving towards varietals which are only planted and producing wine in a few select areas.

Several factors are contributing to this sense of adventure. A surge in travel in the last decade has seen more people engaging in culinary tours and wine travel. As more people are experiencing the cuisine of other cultures, what better to drink with them but wines from those regions? Another factor is the general sense of consumer fatigue when it comes to the wines from several New World regions; the past few years have already seen a move away from the over-oaked chardonnays of the United States and the sweet, flabby rieslings from Canada that used to be produced (and consumed) in abundance.

Getting more and more attention in recent years are the homegrown heroes well known in their traditional countries or region, but perhaps not as well known (yet) to the Canadian consumer. White grapes like Austria’s grüner veltliner, Sicily’s grillo, Campania’s falanghina or Greece’s assyrtiko provide a new and authentic drinking experience.

With many of these wines already available, and even more set to hit shelves in coming years, wine lovers will have a plethora of new flavours and grape profiles to explore and add to their list of favourites.

Wines to Try

Feudi di San Gregorio 2008 Falanghina

Sannio, Italy

BC $28, AB $26, NB $30, NS $27

Loimer 2007 Grüner Veltliner

Kamptal, Austria

BC $21, ON $17