© by Nigel Lelew • This Month Good morning Ellie. It seems such a long time since I've been here ... it must be getting on for five or six weeks, so I'd like to wish everyone a very belated, but very happy New Year! This morning we're going to look forward to see what the future holds for the wine world ... and then, Ellie, we're going to taste the future ... but more of that later! Wine into the New Millennium So what does the future hold for the wine world? ... I suppose the straight answer is that nobody knows! ... but this morning I'm going to put my neck on the block and make a few predictions. The first one change actually how we'll all be buying wine in maybe 20 years time. There'll be no more browsing the shelves in the local supermarket or off-license ... nope ... we'll be buying our wine on-line via the Internet. It's actually here already. Sites like Tesco's and Waitrose.com give you the chance to place your order on-line and have the goods delivered to your door. At the moment that's a bit of a novelty, but in the next few years it will become far more popular. So forget rushing off to Unwins to get a couple of bottles, just log on, match your needs to the wines on offer through their search engine, and then wait for the knock at the door! Watch this space, Ellie, its going to come! So that might be the future as far as how we are going to be buying wine is concerned, but what sort of wines are we going to be buy. Well, I reckon that we're going to see the South American countries going from strength to strength. Not just Chile, but its neighbour across the Andes, Argentina. They've been making wine for almost a couple of centuries, but they've only just started to sell to the European market. Whats so special about Argentina, I hear you say ... well its all about a certain grape variety that comes from the Rhone valley in France. Its a grape variety which the Argentineans have embraced and are starting to make their own ... Malbec. It may not be as alluring, yet, as words like Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon, but believe me the rich warmth and heady alcohol content of a deep, dense Malbec is going to become as well known over the next few years. And it may not only be Argentina that we see emerging ... it will be other South American countries like Brazil, who have made their first tentative, although not encouraging, steps on the European market. So where else in the world will we be hearing about. Well we've had the absolutely stunning whites from New Zealand over the past 10 years, and now they're turning their attention to red wine. If the New Zealanders can do for Cabernet what they did for Sauvignon Blanc and make quality wines to rival or better some of the French classics in such a short space of time, they've certainly got the potential to develop their reds ... and Ellie and I are going to taste a New Zealand red a little later ... and assess where they've got to so far and what the potential is! So what about the varietal wines we're going to be buying ... wines made from single grape varieties and simply labelled with the name of that grape ... after all look what happened to Chardonnay! OK I have two tips for the coming years, and both of them whites. The first is Riesling. No need to switch off ... good German Riesling is superb ... a far cry from the semi sweet dishwater that comes from German overproduction. Good Riesling does exist ... and whats more I think that people are going to sit up and start taking notice of some of the serious Rieslings in the next ten years ... only time will tell, but that's my tip! And my final words of wisdom are saved for a particular favourite grape variety of mine ... Viognier. Its not a grape that's widely known ... but its home is in the northern Rhone valley and although its a white grape, its often blended into the red Cote Rotie. As a white on its own it exists in the tiny appellation of Condrieu. As a varietal wine its gorgeous ... with peachy apricot flavours ... once you've tasted it, its difficult to forget it ... .it really is heaven in a glass. The really good news is that California and Australia are starting to take notice of Viognier, as well as southern France ... we'll be seeing a lot more of Viognier I'm certain. Well that's about it for the crystal ball gazing. We're going to see more of South America, particularly Argentinean Malbec. We're going to start taking an interest in Riesling again and then there's Viognier ... floral peaches and apricot in a glass ... and don't forget that we'll all be buying these wines over the internet. that's my glimpse into the wine world in ten or twenty years time ... I'll come back in 2030 to see if any of it came true if you like Ellie! The Tasting Now we've speculated about the future ... let's actually taste the future. The wines I've brought along this morning may not have been bought over the Internet, but they are great examples of what the future holds for the wine world over the next few years. let's start with the white ... it just had to be a Viognier. This one is Tesco's 1998 Viognier Vins de Pays d'Oc which means that its a simple 'country wine' made from Viognier grapes in Languedoc, Southern France Colour Well its a fairly pale colour in the glass, but the real treat comes from the aroma ... Aroma ... give the wine a swirl ... just take a sniff of this one ... pure apricots with a bunch of flowers ... it just begs you to take a glug doesn't it! Taste In the mouth the wine just springs alive ... all the flavours hit you at the same time ... .but the main theme is that florally apricot taste ... .its dry too and the finish is clean ... leaving you wanting more ... its totally different from any white you've tasted before!! So that's Tesco's 1998 Viognier from the south of France ... at £4.99 I reckon that's a great wine to pull out the fridge and enjoy on its own ... savour those fragrant florally kind of tastes ... that's Viognier! For the red, this morning I've got a wine from New Zealand. Having overshadowed some of the classic whites from the Loire Valley, New Zealand has now turned its considerabale expertise towards red wines. And heres one of the early results ... Waimanu 1998 ... billed as a Premium Dry Red wine, let's take a look ... It's a blend of grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, so its a mix of styles. Colour Well the first thing you notice as you pour this wine out is it isn't as dense a red as you may have expected Aroma Its a very soft aroma of strawberry and raspberry maybe ... it certainly doesn't leap out the glass at you Taste OK let's take a glug of this one ... it's got a soft almost refreshing taste ... the soft berry fruit from the aroma and there's also a hint of oak in there as well ... although its soft its not weak ... the flavours are rich and well developed ... and a slight minty taste towards the end ... Its certainly a subtle wine, but I think there's a huge potential for New Zealand reds ... ... So that's Waimanu ... a New Zealand Cabernet and Pinot Noir, among others, blend at just £4.49 from Tesco ... .Bordeaux ... .or Burgundy ... watch out ... that's just a taste of what New Zealand will be doing in the future. Next Month Well next month Ellie we're going to be jetting off in the Delta Radio Lear jet to Argentina and see in a bit of detail what makes Argentinean wine tick ... look forward to that. And can I just mention the Haslemere Wine and Beer festival ... .yep your very own chance to taste wines and beers from around the globe here in Haslemere. Its on the 29th May ... the last Bank Holiday in May ... on Lion Green ... Just £5 will buy you a ticket for 4 drinks and a commemorative glass too ... and yours truly will be on hand throughout the day if anyone wants to discuss any of the wines ... tickets are on sale now from the Haslemere Hall Box Office ... just call 01428 to book your tickets.
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