Obscure Grapes

Many obscure grapes can make great wines if treated properly. Anna Blazhuk/ Moment/GettyImages

In early June, I will be a speaker at an industry technical conference in Geneva, New York, on a grape variety that, chances are, you have never heard of before, though it’s one that makes extremely nice red wines.

Bryan Ulbrich, winemaker at his excellent winery Left Foot Charley, and I will explore the grape called either Lemberger or Blaufrankisch (they’re synonyms).

Bryan was chosen because he makes a wonderful Blaufränkisch at his winery in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; I was chosen (I suspect) because of my love for obscure wine grapes.

I can’t say exactly when I first knew I was beguiled by the abstruse, but I recall one episode that may have been it. It was 1990.

At a small cafe in Colli Orientali in northern Italy, I ordered a glass of a red wine that was reasonably priced, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a bit like zinfandel and was lovely paired with my pasta.

The waiter, who fortunately spoke good English, said the wine was refosco, a local grape. This began a quest to discover other rarities.

As years passed, I found myself drawn to many obscure grape varieties and for reasons that continue to make me excited about wines.

About 2000, it happened again. At a wine competition I got jazzed by a pale red (almost a rose!) with black pepper, clove, and red cherry fruit—despite its light color.

Then there was a Chilean carménère that got me excited because it had a peppery, blueberry aroma and a fascinating acid-tannin ratio.

Obscure grapes can make exciting wines, although the number-scorers who dote on alcoholic cabernet, black syrahs, and oaky chardonnays also usually ignore chenin blanc and carignan.

Not all of the thousands of grapes that make table wines around the world can make a great wine. Foja tonda, airén, pais, criollo, and hundreds of others can be relied on to make simple wines, but little more. But many obscure grapes can make great wines if treated properly. Here are a few.

French Colombard: This superb grape has been disparaged for years even though it has a lovely citrus/spice character, holds its acidity well, and is tasty when dry.

Grenache: Widely planted in France’s Rhône Valley as well as in Spain (where it’s called garnacha) and Australia, grenache can make great reds that are fragrant and can be complex.

Grüner Veltliner: This white grape from Austria offers a light, pleasingly dry white wine that pairs nicely with appetizers and Asian foods. Some are slightly sweet.

Torrontés: A white from Spain or Argentina, it’s part of the Malvasia family of aromatic grapes. It has a spice component not unlike pinot gris or muscat. Usually dry or just off-dry, it’s fine when paired with grilled seafood or sauteed trout.

Arneis: A delicate white grape from Italy’s northern district of Piedmont, arneis once made a wine that oxidized easily. More recently, many producers have made splendid wines with this lower-acid grape. Many bear the name Roero Arneis, a district in northwestern Piedmont.

Roero: This is a district in Piedmont that’s the red wine counterpart to arneis. It’s made entirely of the regal grape nebbiolo, so its cousins are barolo and barbaresco. Roero is typically made a bit lighter and more elegant.

Sémillon: The primary white grape of Sauternes, it produces wonderful sweet wines. But it also flourishes in Washington and Australia. Made dry, it typically has lower alcohol (rarely more than 11 percent in Australia!) and a slight fig and wet hay sort of aroma. It’s not radically different from sauvignon blanc. It tends to age nicely (even though Americans rarely age their white wines). My favorite Aussie version is from Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley.

Wine of the Week

2021 Cono Sur Sauvignon Blanc, Chile ($11): Lovely aroma of green tea, herbs like sage, and grapefruit rind notes. The entry is soft and appealingly rich, and the flavors are poised to pair with simple seafood fare.

Courtesy of Cono Sur

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