Taking root: how Italy shaped our wine culture

We can thank the Italians for Australia’s wine culture ... and these three are the perfect example.

Longview Jupiter Barbera 2018, First drop Vivo Arneis 2018, Coriole Sangiovese 2018. Picture: Nick Cubbin.

It is hard to imagine how daunting Australia must have been for the waves of Italian immigrants that arrived after World War II. They left a country where food and wine formed a vital part of their everyday existence, and in their new home steak and three veg were washed down with a liberal dose of beer, port and whisky, with all the dignity of the six o’clock swill. 

Gone were the picturesque Alps, the Appenine Mountains and the rich fertile valleys of northern Italy accented by Roman architecture — all replaced by small towns and suburban Australia. The warm, dry landscape they would have expected, but the lack of a food and wine culture no doubt came as a shock, with pasta, coffee and wine often little more than a distant memory.

Thankfully, some Italians had already established themselves in the Riverina and had started making dry table wines rather than the fortified style popular with the locals at the time. It was not unheard of for new Australians after the war to order barrels of Griffith wine, which were delivered to Sydney and Melbourne and then decanted into used beer bottles to be shared among their countrymen and women. It was not the wine of their upbringing, but no doubt these early experiences of Australian wine planted the seeds of the idea that one day they would make wines in their new home similar to what their ancestors had crafted for generations.

These early European Italian settlers and their thirst for wine played a vital part in Australia’s modern wine culture, not only in grape-growing and winemaking, but in the ritual of matching food with wine at the dinner table. They started making wines from the French grape varieties on hand – cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, riesling and chardonnay. But over time their attention turned to varieties from their homeland – sangiovese, nebbiolo, corvina, primitivo and montepulciano. And today we see the fruits of those dreams from the likes of Dal Zotto, Pizzini, De Bortoli, Primo Estate, Calabria Family Wines and Serafino, among countless others.

Decades ago, some local grape-growers were already experimenting with sangiovese, which in Tuscany is famous as the core ingredient of chianti. Penfolds even planted 150 vines in its famed Kalimna Vineyard. However, while many Italian varietals are now championed by winemakers with Italian heritage, it was a non-Italian, Mark Lloyd at Coriole, who really got the ball rolling. Lloyd was always keen to have a market garden of grape varieties extending well past the single vineyard of shiraz vines. He already had a lot of shiraz plantings, some dating back to 1919, and was looking to diversify, particularly into Italian wines. “I was also very anti-French at the time, as they were testing atomic bombs in the Pacific and taking no notice of Australia’s protests,” he says.

A tasting of some Italian wines, and advice from the international wine trade, sent Lloyd down the sangiovese path that now sees prosecco, fiano, nero d’avola, barbera, montepulciano and negroamaro planted on top of the original sangiovese planting, plus olive trees, from which he has bottled olive oil since 1989. “My move to sangiovese was due to a question in my mind: why don’t we have any varieties from Italy?” Lloyd says. “One of the rare ones available was sangiovese.” Many local vignerons followed suit and today McLaren Vale is home to some of our finest Italian varietals.

Coriole has also made huge leaps forward in that time with its sangiovese. Starting with a single clone, it now has nine planted in the vineyard, providing exceptional complexity and leading to the creation of its Reserve Vita Sangiovese in the best vintages. But despite their Italian origins, these are still distinctly Australian styles.

“I never had the desire to recreate Italian styles,” Lloyd says. “In my mind we want to explore the distinctive charcteristics that suit an Australian table. These varieties have such a wonderful range of characters and textures that makes them so exciting to have on the table.” And as with all great Italian wines, Coriole succeeds in crafting truly food-friendly styles.

Broadly across the country, aside from sangiovese much of the local effort still goes into the classic grape varieties from northern Italy – particularly prosecco, nebbiolo and barbera, which are best suited to more temperate climates. Without doubt, in time more of the greatest southern European varietals will be planted, including primitivo, aglianico and sagrantino, whose suitability for warm, dry climates is likely to prove Italy’s greatest gift to Australian wine.

Longview Jupiter Barbera 2018

A decade in the making, this is the inaugural release of Longview’s “Reserve” Barbera. It

is very elegant and almost perfumed, with pretty floral, herbal fruits supported by a touch of wild strawberry. Sinewy but strong, it has exceptional fruit concentration and energy, making for a true Italian style.

First Drop Vivo Arneis 2018

Made from a lesser-known Piedmontese grape variety, this wine shows fantastic varietal character – green apple, grapefruit and nashi pear fruits with a touch of floral complexity. It is lightweight but lacks for nothing, with a punchy, bright, crisp finish.  

Coriole Sangiovese 2018

The original and still going strong. Classic sour cherry, dried herb and baked earth scented fruits give way to a fleshy, rich and ripe style of sangiovese with good tannins and acidity. It’s bold but retains the variety’s savoury personality.