Grape varieties: what's in a name?

If you challenged a group of friends to come up with five wine grape varieties within a minute the chances are their list would include Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Prosecco. After discounting Prosecco on the basis that it is a wine rather than a grape (it's made from the Glera grape) a bit more head scratching would probably come up with Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon as the 5th choice.  Unsurprisingly, these are by far the most popular grapes in wines across the world.  They are the names we encounter regularly on bottles, wine lists, and supermarket shelves.  And if the argument goes that we feel safer with what we know, there's nothing wrong with sticking to these varieties week in week out.  After all, there's plenty of variety and marked differences between, say, Chardonnay-based wines from Burgundy, Australia and California in the same way that a French Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire is distinctly different from one from New Zealand.  Personally however I have a fascination with less common grape varieties and love the uncertainty of genuinely having no idea what a wine made from an unfamiliar grape variety is going to taste like.  Fortunately, in recent years high street retailers have made a thing of promoting ranges showcasing lesser known varieties and the M&S Found range and Waitrose's Loved and Found range in particular offer some intriguing possibilities.  But, for the moment, let's just concentrate on a few wines that capture attention from the name of the grape alone before you've even picked up the corkscrew.

Sainsbury's Gaillac Loin de L'Oeil, Taste the Difference 2022

Loin de l'Oeil - what a name for a grape!  Tim Atkin writes that a wine from this grape is "easier to drink than to pronounce".  It's an indigenous grape in the Gaillac appellation NE of Toulouse in SW France.  The name translates as 'far from the eye' which makes us none the wiser until we understand that the eye in question here is the bud from which the bunch of grapes grows on a long stem.  At the time of writing this particular bottle is the latest addition to Sainsbury's Discovery Collection range and to be precise is actually 89% Loin de l'Oeil with the remaining 11% Sauvignon Blanc.  With 11% abv it has ripe peach and apricot flavours with relatively low acidity.  A year or so ago there was a light bodied, fruit friendly white 'Loved and Found' Loin de l'Oeil at Waitrose and until recently The Wine Society was promoting a very competitively priced Plaines Sauvages (Cépages Oubliés range), Côtes de Tarn, Loin de l'Oeil 2023.  Let's hope retailers' eyes in the UK are not too far from this beautifully named grape in the next 12 months!

Susumaniello Salento Rosso, Vallone 2021

This is a red wine from the heal of Italy in Puglia which I first came across on holiday in southern Italy when we wanted a different red wine to the ubiquitous Primitivo and Negroamaro typically on offer.  Once again I was seduced by the beautiful name of the grape susumaniello.  As is typical with traditional local grape varieties the name is bound up with winemakers' perceptions and experience of working the vines. Susumaniello is a dialect word meaning 'little donkey' with sources being undecided whether this derives from the grapes being stubborn and difficult to manage or a reference to large grapes clusters hanging from the vines in a simllar way to a donkey carrying a heavy load. Once again, there is a good value fragrant 100% Susumaniello rosé 12.5% in Waitrose Loved and Found range but in my opinion it is in the big juicy reds that the grape excels.  This red Susumaniello from The Wine Society tends to medium rather than full bodied but can definitely carry the load of basic everyday cooking e.g. meat and tomato based pasta, shepherds pie etc. over the winter months. 

Marcarini Roero Arneis DOCG 2022/23

It's interesting how indigenous grape varieties often have names reflecting growers' difficulties in getting them to flourish.  Following the stubborn donkey (above) we now turn to Arneis grown in Piedmont in the NW of Italy SE of Turin.  In Piedmontese dialect Arneis literally translates as 'little rascal' suggesting that, yet again, here is a grape that always needs care and attention. Thankfully, modern viticulture seems to have tamed the rebel grape which now flourishes in the Roero region on the 'other' side of the Tanaro river from the more famous red wine vineyards of Barolo and Barbaresco.  I first came across Rorero white wines from the Malvira Winery when staying at Villa Tiboldi, the onsite hotel/restaurant. They are versatile white wines and, again, a welcome change in Piedmont from the more famous Gavi wines made from Cortese.  Until recently there was a good value Roero Arneis in the M&S Expressions series but this bottle from Majestic is a reliable, attractive well-made example from a small family winery in the panoramic village of La Morra.

I will continue to research (read about AND drink) less common local grape varieties  because they are all part of the fascinating fabric of food and drink.  Next up is surely Schippettino (from Fruili Venezia Giulia in NE Italy) or perhaps the wonderfully named Cococciola from Italy's Abruzzo region.   But for the moment I think I'll give the Greek grape Roditis a miss as this is one grape that sounds more like a disease!