Wine a Day

Italian immigrants conjure up a variety of images, unfortunately many of these are influenced by Hollywood films like The Godfather, Goodfellas and even more unfortunately; anything Steven Segal has been in. In reality, Italian immigrants have contributed a lot to the economies of many countries. Most pronounced is probably the USA and Australia. They did not do this with organised crime, pizza restaurants and fruit stalls; their main contribution has been in agriculture. Many immigrants from Italy were from farming communities, and brought their traditions, experience and work ethic to their new homelands.

In Australia, the majority of immigration from Italy occurred after World War II. Italy was the second most common origin of settlers in Australia after the UK and Ireland between 1949 to 2000. It is estimated that over 800,000 Australians are of Italian origin. They have been a very important part of the country’s development into a prosperous and economically powerful nation.

The King Valley in the foothills of the Victorian Alps, about 3 hours north from Melbourne in Australia, has attracted a large Italian community. The weather, landscape and fertile land makes it a “home away from home” for many Italian-Australians. The area was mostly used for tobacco production up to the 1970’s. The change in government subsidies at this time made many farms change what they grew. Thankfully many turned to the growing of grapes. Initially to sell to other wineries, their grapes became highly sought after because of their quality. It was only a matter of time before the region’s reputation changed from fruit to wine production. The combination of sun, soil and knowhow of the family owned estates here is generating top quality and innovative wines.

This week’s Wine Experience of the Week is from the King Valley. The Dal Zotto 2008 Sangiovese-Cabernet is a fantastic example of strong Italian wine making traditions and modern Australian techniques. The Dal Zotto family started growing Merlot, Cabernet Savignon and Chardonnay to sell to other wineries. Otto Dal Zotto brought with him a wealth of wine making experience from Italy, and soon the family were making impressive Shiraz, Cabernet Merlot and Riesling wines. The Dal Zotto estate became a pioneer in the planting of Italian varieties in Australia, by introducing Sangiovese, Barbera, Prosecco, Pinot Grigio and Arneis to the winery in 1994. Visiting the winery is a great experience. The family still do all the work around the winery. From the cellar door to marketing, sales and of course the wine making. Just chatting to any of the family members about wine gives you an instant idea of how passionate they are about their wines and wines of the King Valley region.

The Sangiovese-Cabernet is a very creative wine. The rich fruitiness of the Cabernet is blended with the earthy Sangiovese to make an excellent wine for spring time meals. At under AUS $20 it represents excellent value for anyone who likes big berry filled Australian wines. The smell is dominated by spicy berry aromas. The taste continues with an explosion of fruit, the twist with this wine is the length and depth that the Sangiovese provides at the end. It is a very satisfying wine just by itself, but with a nice lamb or tomato-based pasta it comes alive even more.

The Australian industry has been given a lot of negative press recently. The issues of over production and price pressures it has placed on the industry has put a cloud over Australian wine around the world. The feeling is getting so strong that boycotting Australian wine in general has been murmuring around the internet. It is these wines and wine makers like Dal Zotto, which give the Australian wine industry a lot of hope. The adventurous and innovative wines being produced in many of the smaller wineries around Australia are worth searching out. That is if you can find them among the ocean of cheaper mass produced wines coming out of Australia.

If you are thinking of visiting Australia and wanting a great few days out, the King Valley is a stunning place, with some great food and of course wineries like Dal Zotto dotted around the valley. It will give a far better appreciation of the wine industry in Australia than what is on offer at the supermarket wine section.