Alternative Varieties Poll Results

You appreciate Nebbiolo by a clear majority as a noble grape - and drinking Italian Barolo is definitely one of the great wine drinking pleasures. Interesting that Gruener Veltiner also gets a good mention. I have had excellent wines from this grape variety.

Translating this into the Australian experience reveals a different picture, though. Nebbiolo is no longer the favorite, partly, I suspect, because it is rare here, but also because it is not yet mastered in Australia (and these two reasons are related). We do better with Sangiovese and Tempranillo and both varieties might succeed as 'lighter' full bodied reds. The fact that less have voted on the Australian poll might also show that some of you are not yet convinced about the success of any of these varieties in Australia.

I am quite comfortable with these results, even though the sample size is pretty small.