THE WINE ROUTE
With a vast variety of styles, producers and grape varieties, the business of wine tasting and purchasing can be baffling. Wine guru Jamie Goode reveals how to get the most out of your vino and gives a few handy tasting tips, too

If you like wine, here’s some good news. Wine quality worldwide is better than it’s ever been. In recent years, even the previously slumbering wine producers of Europe have woken up and are starting to produce good, cheap wine of consistent quality. Added to this, tasty and affordable wines are now flowing from the ‘new world’ – particularly the USA, Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

Those of you who were of drinking age 15 years ago will remember that buying wine used to be a complete lottery. Lots of cheap wine was downright nasty. Now a trawl through the bargain basement selections in the supermarket may yield some rather neutral, anonymous wines but you’d be hard pressed to find anything undrinkable, and you might get some nice surprises.

What changed? It’s largely thanks to the Australians. They started making inexpensive wines that tasted ripe, fruity and frankly rather delicious. The success of the Australians spurred on the likes of Chile and Argentina to target export markets with well-made, affordable wines. The result? This caused producers in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and other traditional wine nations to take a long, hard look at their industries – worried about losing market share, they tried hard to modernise and improve the quality of their more basic wines, with some success. In the end, it is the consumer who has benefited from this increased competition.

Another big change has been the way that wine is marketed. The traditional way has been to stick the name of the place of origin on the label. Indeed, wine is remarkable in that its flavour often reflects a sense of place. But this makes life very difficult for consumers, who have to know an awful lot about wine to realise the differences between, for example, a Pouilly Fumé (a crisp Sauvignon from the Loire) and a Pouilly Fuissé (a full flavoured Chardonnay from Burgundy), plus details of the hundreds of other appellations in France alone. The second way is to stick the name of the grape variety on the label such as Chardonnay or Merlot. This suddenly makes wine a lot easier to understand, because each grape variety has a distinctive flavour profile, and it’s much easier to become familiar with a dozen grape varieties than it is to learn hundreds of place names.

The success of new-world wines has partly been because of this shift in marketing, making wine more accessible. Of course, regional differences are still important, and it’s likely that the sorts of wines prized by wine buffs will still be sold this way. But for the rest of us, having the grape variety (or varieties, when blended) on the label is a useful aid to understanding what the wine will actually taste like.

Visiting vineyards
So what’s hot in 2005? Which are the wines to look out for? Here’s a selection of six of the current over-performing regions

Part of the attraction of wine is that it is not only a drink, but also an expression of a region’s culture. And vineyards tend to be situated in the sorts of places we like to go on holiday to. As a consequence, many people — not just wine buffs — find the prospect of visiting vineyards appealing, but some are put off because they don’t know what to do, or they simply feel that they don’t know enough about wine.
But don’t let your own shyness or perceived ignorance put you off. Providing you follow some simple guidelines and bear a few pointers in mind, vineyard trips are tremendous fun.

■ Some producers are more geared up to receiving visitors than others. Larger vineyards will almost always have a tasting room, shop and visitors centre (or some combination of these), where there are staff dedicated to receiving visitors. But in many traditional European regions, visiting a smaller producer will require an appointment, and the proprietor will have to take time out of their schedule to see you.

■ The most famous producers in the celebrity wine regions of Burgundy and Bordeaux have no trouble selling out all their wine on release, and so don’t expect them to be eager to meet casual visitors. For this reason, often the most rewarding visits are to the less famous producers who need to work a bit harder to sell their wine.

■ In a typical tasting room the procedure should be pretty straightforward. There will be a list of wines available for tasting, and sometimes there may be a small charge. It is quite acceptable to taste the whole range: don’t feel you have to choose just one or two.

■ Do you have to buy anything? In more modern wineries, the tasting room is seen both as a PR exercise and a sales pitch. It is generally acceptable to taste and not to buy. Staff will be pleased if you display genuine interest, but not distraught if you don’t.

■ Try not to visit during busy hours, such as weekend afternoons, and don’t forget that in many European countries, lunch time (usually midday to 2 pm) is sacred

Spain
Surprising fact: Spain has a greater area under vine than any other country, although the yields from these vineyards are low, so it only ranks third in the list of wine producers. In the north-west, the cool, damp region of Galicia produces stunningly aromatic but expensive whites from the Albariño grape, and Rueda is beginning to produce tasty, modern whites from Verdejo and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Otherwise, Spain is largely known for its red wines. Rioja, with its sweetly fruited reds (aged in American oak), is probably the most famous region, but not the hippest. This accolade is being fought over by Ribera del Duero (rich, Tempranillo-based reds) and Priorato (dense wines from Grenache and Carignan planted on steep terraces). Other regions that deserve a mention are Navarra (rosé and full reds), Penedés (home of Champagne-substitute Cava), Somontano (varietal wines), Jumilla (chunky reds) and La Mancha (for increasingly competent and worthy plonk).

Argentina
Ranking fifth in the list of global producers, Argentina produces a lot of wine, mostly destined for thirsty locals. As the attention of producers has turned to the fussier export markets, there has been an increased planting of better varieties and a general step-up in quality. Watch out for gutsy reds from the Malbec grape, which thrives here, and also for aromatic whites from the indigenous Torrontés variety.

Chile
Are you looking for attractive, fruity wines with bags of fruit, but at budget prices? Chile could be the place for you. Chile’s speciality is inexpensive but flavour-filled wines from the international varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and more recently Shiraz and Chile’s ‘own’ grape, Carmenere. These are now rapidly filling supermarket shelves in the wake of the Aussie wines, which have moved to a higher price bracket. The key wine regions include Maipo, Rapel, Curicó, Maule and trendy cool-climate Casablanca.

France’s Languedoc
The Languedoc has traditionally been the region that made the largest contribution to the European wine lake, churning out millions of litres of inexpensive table-wine. Over the last couple of decades, things have started to change, and many producers are beginning to shift their focus from quantity to quality. The best wines tend to be made from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes, although the once second-rate Carignan is making a comeback. Sub-regions, such as Faugères, Pic St Loup, Montpeyroux, Minervois, St Chinian and Corbières, are leading the field in quality. The best producers make robust, earthy red wines that offer value for money, and the varietal whites, made from Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Viognier are also good.

South Africa
Now it has fully emerged from the shadow of apartheid, South Africa is making better wines that usually represent good value for money at all levels on the quality scale. Although South Africa is classed as a ‘new world’ region, its wines are often poised between the new world and old world styles. Look out for reds from South Africa’s ‘own’ variety, Pinotage, which makes striking, funky-tasting wines, often with a savoury, cheesy edge to them, and whites from the widely planted Chenin Blanc. The top tip in the Cape is for reds from Shiraz and whites from Sauvignon Blanc. Famous regions are Stellenbosch, Paarl and Constantia, although cooler regions such as Walker Bay and Elgin are beginning to attract attention.

Australia
Australia has been the great success story in the global wine market. A combination of Aussie pragmatism and the clever appliance of technological innovation has led to the emergence of an Australian wine industry that produces affordable, easy-to-drink red and whites that taste of sunshine. Of course, Australia makes some serious wines, too, from regions such as the Barossa, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale and Margaret River, but it is the way that they’ve been able to make cheap wine taste nice that has enabled them to grab the attention of wine lovers worldwide.

How to taste wine
Tasting wine should be fun, but too often people are anxious about it. The idea is to decide whether you like the wine or not; there’s no right or wrong involved. Take the glass, swirl it and have a sniff. Do you like what you smell? Can you spot some of the aromas? Then take a slurp. Let the wine rest in the mouth a moment while you assess it. What does it taste like? Is it harmonious? Is it interesting? Then either swallow or spit it out (after a bit of practice you’ll realise you can get just as much information this way). The advantage of spitting is that you can visit several wineries in a day and not get slammed, but that’s a personal decision – some people are happy just to drink the stuff.

To get you started, Jamie Goode has tried some of the MyTravel wines you can sample on-board. Here are his tasting notes:

‘Premiair’ wine selection
Cape Maclear Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 Western Cape, South Africa Showing vibrant berry and blackcurrant fruit with a distinctive spicy edge, this is a tasty red wine in a forward modern style. The acidity keeps things fresh.

Footprint Sauvignon Blanc 2004, Western Cape A lovely fruity Sauvignon Blanc showing a good varietal character. It has an appealing green, grassy streak and there’s plenty of acidity: a good summer sipper that’s a good match for a wide variety of foods.

Wines to buy
Sol Casal Viña del Campo Branco, Spain
With a fresh, modern, aromatic nose this is an appealing white wine that shows fresh green apple and melony fruit. Very appealing.

Sol Casal Viña del Campo Tinto, Spain
This deep coloured, dense red wine is made from the Tempranillo grape. It is ripe, smooth and spicy with nice elegance to the red berry fruit. Quite a bit of tannic structure, but it’s well balanced and satisfying.