The World In a Wine Glass

January can be a rubbish time of year. No more presents to open, days are grey, nights are cold, and summer is a long, long, way away.

It’s even worse if you’re trapped at work when it seems like everyone else in the entire world is either sunning themselves, or off skiing; and that’s just the friends who post pics on Facebook.

Don't fret, we are here to brighten up your month! When air miles are not an option, one way of brightening up the month is to pack a suitcase for your taste buds and to send them on a little trip through the world’s wine regions instead. They’ll hopefully send you a postcard.

Here are three places in the southern hemisphere worth putting in your glass right now.

Australia

If only you could click your heels and find yourself in OZ. Sadly 24 hours on a plane is a big ask.

Yalumba’s The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon, £18.50

 This wine gives you a powerful taste of the Coonawara region. With ripe fruit, herb, and ironstone aromas, this complex wine has great length, while its fine tannins (thanks in part to the dusty, dark red soils of the region), make this wine a drinker and a keeper. Founded in 1849 by Samuel Smith, Yalumba (aboriginal for ‘all the land around’) is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery.

Philip Shaw The Dreamer Viognier, £12.50

 This has intense aromas of lychee and rose petals, juxtaposed with a fresh fruit palate and just a hint of oak. Like their counterparts from the Rhone, this Australian wine has typical Viognier characteristics of spice and ripe apricots. Philip Shaw wines are made exclusively from fruit grown in the winemaker’s own 46 hectare Koomooloo vineyard in New South Wales, and the 2015 vintage is only 10.5% alcohol – remarkably low for Australian wine.

South Africa

The weather in the southern hemisphere is perfect this time of year. Instead of 10 hours on a plane, just take 10 minutes ordering some wine.

Jordan Cobblers Hill Cabernet Sauvignon, £27

 This classic ‘big’ wine bags full of dark chocolate and black cherry flavours, offset by hints of mint and vanilla. Jordan is a modern, family-run winery in Stellenbosch, one of South Africa’s cooler wine growing regions. The rich tannins make this wine perfect with beef.

Cape Point Sauvignon Blanc, £13.29

 This wine has become one of South Africa’s most sought-after Sauvignon Blancs. 

Chile

As well as jet lag, you may risk altitude sickness in certain parts of Chile. No chance of that drinking a glass of these at home.

Merlot GREY Vina Ventisquero, £12.79,

 

This wine has an intense flavour of ripe cherries and prunes, mixed with spices and tobacco. Made in the Colchagua Valley, one of Chile’s most renowned regions, GREY is typically elegant, with soft tannins. Perfect for drinking now, this wine will become more complex over the next couple of years.

Casas del Bosque Reserva Chardonnay, £9.50

 

 

 

Happy travelling!

Mathieu.