Last year, you probably tasted your way through any number of well-known wine grape varieties, whether cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, pinot noir or sauvignon blanc.
However, in your future are the drinking delights of less familiar names: counoise, vaccarese, mencia, picpoul blanc and cabernet pfeffer.
Vintners from California, Texas, Europe and South America are planting or reviving these little-known, sometimes nearly extinct varieties. Part of their aim is to save the world’s viticultural heritage.
However, the biggest reason they are championing these grapes is because they might fare better in a changing climate than popular ones, such as temperature-sensitive pinot noir.
Take counoise, one of the 13 varieties permitted in Chateauneuf-du-Pape blends in France’s Rhone Valley. Growers abandoned it because the grapes only mature late in a growing season, so in cooler years they did not fully ripen. They are also susceptible to various diseases, including gray rot.
However, as temperatures climb, counoise is making a comeback. Its late-ripening characteristic is now a plus. The grapes also maintain high acidity even with heat waves and increasing drought. Coincidentally, the light-colored wines fit into today’s vogue for low-tannin, lower-alcohol, easy-drinking, chillable reds.
The first California producer to plant it was Paso Robles winery Tablas Creek, founded in 1989 by the local Haas family and the French Perrin family, owners of Chateau de Beaucastel in the Rhone Valley.
“Our original long-term goal was always to invest in all the grapes grown in the Rhone, including those that had practically disappeared,” said Jason Haas, the second-generation proprietor of Tablas Creek. “Now we see that all the higher-acid varieties are going to be increasingly useful as the climate warms.”
Haas bottles 100 percent versions of 20 different varieties, which are all sold out.
He said counoise, picpoul, grenache blanc and vaccarese are the most likely to be great on their own. Grenache blanc has already been a success story, becoming the second-most planted white Rhone grape in California, after viognier, used in the blend for Tablas Creek’s excellent Cotes de Tablas Blanc.
The Rhone Valley is just one of the many European wine regions getting even warmer. The threat of climate change is also pushing new interest in unusual, abandoned grapes in Italy, Portugal and Spain, among others, and is inspiring winemakers in the new world to grow them.
California winemakers are especially taking up the call to action and embracing uncommon varieties.
Andy Smith, awinemaker at DuMOL winery in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, is noted for his luscious single-vineyard pinots and chardonnays, but he took a chance on mencia, a red grape from Spain’s Galicia region.
After the winery purchased a contiguous 4-hectare ancient apple orchard, he discovered mencia vines had just been approved for release in California.
“It’s a tough, late-ripening variety, drought-resistant,” Smith said. “The perfect grape for climate change.”
He first planted it in 2016. He now picks it a month later than pinot noir and is planting more.
“The heat didn’t affect the grapes at all,” Smith said.
Mencia also appeals to wine lovers looking for something new.
The first vintage of Smith’s purple-fruited, floral-scented red — in 2018 — was snapped up by the winery’s club in 48 hours. Now he is mulling over the ancient Italian grape timorasso.
Dozens of rare grapes are having a moment, and there is hot competition in California for those discovered in old vineyards, such as cabernet pfeffer. California’s Lodi region, a hotbed of experimentation, boasts 125 grape varieties.
However, the trend goes far beyond the US and Europe to China and Australia, where grower Bruce Bassham found that the Portuguese grape arinto thrives even in temperatures of almost 50°C.
Some winemakers just cannot resist the challenge of the unknown.
As Matthew Rorick, a winemaker at Napa Valley’s Forlorn Hope winery, put it: “We love the long shots. We love the outsiders, the lost causes.”
The seven grapes below are just a sampling of the rare varietals available right now.
GRENACHE BLANC
Widely planted in the southern Rhone, this white grape has had recent success in California and South Africa.
One to try: 2020 Ridge Grenache Blanc Halter Ranch. Vivid and juicy, this medium-bodied, round, refreshing white includes 20 percent picpoul. It has enticing aromas of pears and honeysuckle.
FALANGHINA
This ancient white variety holds on to its natural acidity in hotter climates. Although it is not seen much outside Italy’s Campania region, it is flourishing in several California regions, including Paso Robles in the Central Coast, Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma and Yolo County in Napa Valley.
One to try: 2021 Matthiasson Lost Slough Vineyard Falanghina. Winemaker Steve Matthiasson keeps all the bright, fresh mineral flavors in this wine from grapes grown in hot-climate Yolo County.
PETIT MANSENG
In southwestern France, this late-ripening grape is made into rich, sweet white wines. In Virginia it is a dry white success. The variety thrives in the state’s heat, humidity and heavy rainfall.
One to try: 2020 Early Mountain Vineyards Petit Manseng. In Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, this winery makes a golden-colored, creamy-textured, refreshing example with notes of mango and dried peaches.
PICPOUL
The name of this zingy white variety means “lip stinger,” for its sharp acidity. It was long found only in France’s Languedoc region, but is now at home in California.
One to try: 2021 Bonny Doon Picpoul Beeswax Vineyard Central Coast. Crisp and tart, this high-acid white with bright lemony notes pairs ideally with steamed clams, plus it is a great value and has only 11 percent alcohol. It is blended with 10 percent grenache blanc.
CABERNET PFEFFER
DNA testing shows that century-old vines of this mysterious, heat-tolerant red grape in California are the same as mourtaou, which is almost extinct in France.
One to try: 2020 Stirm Siletto Vineyard Cabernet Pfeffer. Light, delicate, perfumed and peppery, this wine with cranberry and pomegranate flavors is the kind of fresh, low-alcohol red that tastes best chilled. It resembles a light, savory nebbiolo.
COUNOISE
This dark-skinned red grape is gaining adherents in California’s Paso Robles and Sierra Foothills, as well as Texas and Washington state.
Two to try: 2021 C.L. Butaud Carbonic Counoise. Texas’ answer to Beaujolais. Randy Hester, a winemaker at of C.L. Butaud, uses a method seen in France’s Beaujolais region to create an especially light, vibrant, fruity-spicy red that is best slightly chilled.
2021 Railsback Freres Le Counoise. This juicy, fresh red from California’s Santa Ynez Valley has the style, elegance and structure of a cru Beaujolais.
MENCIA
If you are a fan of pinot noir, you might also go for the floral-scented reds from this grape primarily found in northwestern Spain.
One to try: 2020 DuMOL Mencia. This pure, silky-textured wine is deeply fruity, with plum and mint aromas. It was aged in Tuscan amphora.
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