Comments on: I can’t believe it’s not Albariño!

By: Warren Edwardes

Warren Edwardes — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:24:49 +0000

How come an Australian wine has the prefix “Alban”? In 2006 it was sugested that St. Alban should replace St George as the patron saint of England.

So how about Sheilarinyo?

If the grapes can/can’t be distinguished by winemakers or by most people in the glass then that is all that matters.

By: Bob Zielinski

Bob Zielinski — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:26:22 +0000

How about “Faux Barino” in homage to Jean-Michel Boursiquot? Has a nice ring to it, yes?

By: Winsor Dobbin

Winsor Dobbin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:15:35 +0000

Why not use: “Not (in tiny type) Albarino (in large type) but close (in tiny type)”

By: tish

tish — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:42:50 +0000

Howzabout callin’ it Carmenere?

By: Liz Caskey

Liz Caskey — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:53:42 +0000

I think Albarinot is a totally appropriate monicker.
I am a food/wine/travel writer based in Santiago, Chile and as I read this post, I immediately was reminded of the story of how Carmenere was “discovered” here in 1994 from cutting brought from France in the 19th century. In fact, it was also Jean-Michel Boursiquot that found this in the vineyards of Aquitania in the Maipo. Interesting post–thank you.
Best, Liz Caskey

http://eatwineblog.com

By: Zak

Zak — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:00:43 +0000

Idiot Savagnin.

By: Thomas Houseman

Thomas Houseman — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:06:26 +0000

albarin-DOH! I think I see a Simpson’s plot on the horizon…..

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:01:05 +0000

My suggestion:

Reoriño.

Reor is latin for to think or suppose.

By: Paul Starr

Paul Starr — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:33:57 +0000

In Australia, “Traminer” is still a label caught up in old perceptions that wines like “traminer riesling” were always sweet, sickly, cloying and cheap (“moselle” has some similar meanings for some here).

I don’t know how I’d go about trying to disentangle the sauvignon blanc / savagnin blanc confusion in the mind of the Australian consumer.

My thinking at the moment is to name it independant of the variety, at least for a while.

By: Charlie Olken

Charlie Olken — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:25:17 +0000

Would it be so bad to call it savagnin blanc? Well, yes, but because of the inevitable confusion with another grape of a similar name.

So, why not Traminer. Good wine can stand almost any name as long as it is not confusing.

That is my vote–Traminer.

Max Allen as usual deserves a gold star for his instantly brilliant humor.

By: Paul Starr

Paul Starr — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:57:14 +0000

Short version of the Australian albarino story:
- The Spanish albarino vineyards include different albarino clones, plus two other white grapes, one of which is savagnin blanc (which has a lot of other names as well).
- CSIRO sourced albarino clonal material from Spain, which then went into a bunch of source blocks for all or nearly all of the current Australian albarino plantings that have produced fruit
- Genetic testing of the CSIRO ‘albarino’ material has confirmed it is identical to the ‘savagnin blanc’ material CSIRO also holds
- This does not necessarily guarantee that all Australian albarino is savagnin blanc, but much of it will be
- Regardless of what the vines are, the fruit has been good and it is a promising prospect across multiple regions (warm and cool)
- Many examples of Australian ‘albarino’ share significant similarities with the flavour profiles of Spanish ‘albarino’ – across the ripeness spectrum
- People with 2008 and 2009 material in bottle and/or tank are having to make serious decisions about labelling, naming, marketing etc
- It’s not clear yet what the bigger growers/makers will do
- People are testing the genetics of the actual vines in their vineyard, against albarino and savagnin blanc to confirm or otherwise what happened
- There is a backlog for getting through these tests
- It is very likely that authenticated albarino clonal material will be pushed into the vine market by at least Yalumba Nursery, if not other vinegrowers, to complement the ‘albarino’ material already here.
- The original error in terms of vine identification is likely to be on the Spanish side, but could have been identified earlier here if initial comments were acted on.
- The success of albarino/savagnin blanc in Australia so far has not been confined to just cool regions, with good examples coming out of warmer areas as well (good acids, bright fruit, low alcohols).
- I intend to persist with ‘albarino’ at Quarry Hill (our first harvest was from the 2009 vintage) as it shows good promise in our cool climate, whatever it is called.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:54:28 +0000

Possibly Albarinin or Albarinin Blanco? Although not nearly as cute as Albari-not, it is evocative of both grapes and yet connotes something new.

By: corkdork

corkdork — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:03:08 +0000

Albarinot gets my vote as well; I’d pronounce it as “Al-bar-e-NOT,” though, just to avoid confusion.

Sort of reminiscent of how Carmenere was thought to be Merlot in Chile years ago, isn’t it? Surprising how easily mistaken grapes are…

By: Dale

Dale — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:53:16 +0000

I’ve carried Tscharke’s ‘Girl Talk’ for a few vintages. It certainly tastes and smells like Albarino, it pairs with oysters like one, I’ve never had a problem calling it one, and I sell it pretty often to my Albarino fans.

I’ve only tasted Savagnin labeled as such…and it’s been done in the ‘typical’ French oxidized manner. Not everyone’s cup of tea, for sure.

With these caveats in mind, I’d vote for Albarinot. I can pronounce it the same way, give the romantic backstory, discuss what my customers are actually having for dinner, and know that they’ll be back for another bottle of it, whatever it ‘really’ is.

By: Benito

Benito — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:47:05 +0000

My vote:

Klaatu Barada Vino
(with the Vino part obscured by lots of coughing)