English wine has ceased to be a bad joke," declared Tim Atkin MW in
The Observer recently. "The days when the industry was peopled by eccentrics, dyspeptic colonels and graduates of the Women's Institute's jam-making classes are long gone. Now, the talk is of bottom lines and business plans."
I know, we haven't exactly got the climate for making wine, and look what we have to work with - lesser, early-ripening grapes such as Seyval Blanc and Huxelrebe. But, says Atkin, the best sparkling wines are excellent (he cites Nyetimber and RidgeView).
And the likes of Bacchus and Schönburger, in the hands of a decent winemaker (he highlights Three Choirs, Wickham, Denbies, Camel Valley and the English Wines Group), have a certain something, he declares. Well, if your menu boasts an abundance of local produce, why not your wine list?
Now is also the time to take another look at the French wine powerhouse - Bordeaux.
It's true the world and his wife are advising you to move away from the crusty old classics, but Bordeaux is undergoing a massive renaissance. "The number of under-performing, feeble properties in Bordeaux has greatly diminished over the past decade, and the number of properties producing wines of provocative interest each year expands swiftly," says Andrew Jefford in
Wine magazine. He should know - he's the author of multi-award-winning
The New France (Mitchell Beazley, £30, reviewed in
Caterer, 17 April). And he's not just talking about the top stuff. "Not all of them are expensive; not all of them are 'Parkerised'; not all of them whack you in the gums," he says. Among the "Bordeaux bargains" he recommends are the 2000 vintages of Belgrave, Aiguilhe, Lezongars, Puygueraud and La Croix-Saint-Georges.
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Wine Spectator has got into a lather twice in two months about Priorat, and its surrounding wine regions. Priorat is in the North-east of Spain, and if you haven't got a gutsy red from here on your wine list yet then you had better think again.
It has all happened pretty quickly in Priorat. Its modern wine era began only in the 1990s, with pioneers such as René Barbier and Palacios. The regions nearby are also causing a stir - Tarragona, Falset, Montsant, and Toro, near Ribera. It really is time to look beyond Rioja.
However, the most noise in the Old World, in recent months, has come from Austria. Ever since wine celebrity Jancis Robinson and
The Observer's Atkin arranged a blind tasting in London, pitching Austrian whites against some of the world's best Chardonnay, the wine trade hasn't stopped talking. Of the 36 wines tasted, half were from Austria. Seven of these took the first 10 places, and Grüner Veltliner took the top spot.
"I am more convinced than ever that, alongside Germany and France, Austria is one of the three great white-wine producing countries," enthused Atkin. The problem is that Austrian wines aren't cheap, though Frei Weingartner is doing its best to change this (FWW Wines: 020 8786 8161).
Decanter, meanwhile, has been championing the "Super-Barberas". Barbera used to turn your teeth black and shrink your gums, such was the acidity - but these days they're a much fruitier affair.
A gutsy red with good acidity is also popular with the critics - many of whom get bored with some of the blousy, in-your-face, identikit wines of the New World, and Barbera can deliver in a good range of styles from spritzy Monferrato to the posh, barrique-aged, single-vineyard selections which the Italian wine press have dubbed "Super-Barberas". Recommended producers are Bava, La Spinetta and Michele Chiarlo.
And wines from Greece and Eastern Europe aren't being overlooked either.
Decanter published a major focus last December on Macedonia. Names to keep an eye on include Michaelis Boutaris, Dimitrios Katsaros and Yannis Voyatzis. Grape varieties include Xinomavro and Assyrtiko.
After losing ground to the New World, Bulgaria is shaking off its old, ex-Eastern Bloc image and catching up fast, says Simon Meads in
Wine magazine.
Romania isn't far off reaching its full potential either, says the same magazine. "Forget Dracula," it says, "Romania may soon become better known for the Black Maiden" - it's a Syrah-type indigenous grape, in case you were wondering.
So what's new in the New World? Well, it's moving at such a pace that it's hard to keep up. The world's most southerly wine region, Central Otago in New Zealand, is teetering on the edge of Pinot Noir luvviedom, according to
Wine magazine - try Felton Road, Mount Difficulty and Mount Edward. And if you haven't got a Washington Cabernet on your list, then you're missing a trick. "It's the wine of the moment," says Harvey Steiman in
Wine Spectator. Labels to stock include Woodward Canyon, Leonetti, Columbia Crest and Andrew Will.
But these aren't exactly cheap - so look to Chile. Now that the Chileans are coming clean about Carmenère (they thought it was Merlot), they are really going for it. "In the next 10 years there will be a quantum leap in the performance of Carmenère," predicts Anthony Rose in
Harpers Wine & Spirit (Terranoble scooped a gold for its Carmenère at last year's International Wine Challenge).
Finally, Australia. Consumers are at last getting the message about its regional diversity. Margaret River in Western Australia continues to excite those in the know. "The Cabernets of Willyabrup are as black as any Pauillac," quivers Susan Keevil in
Wine magazine (try Mike Peterkin and Cullen).
And Tasmania, too, for its "string of superlative vintages for Pinot Noir", says Australian author Max Allen. Meanwhile, in
Decanter, Andrew Caillard MW reckons we should all be keeping more of an eye on the Barossa - "for its wonderful old vineyards and sheer enthusiasm".