DRINK LESS, BUT BETTER

It’s time to put your palate ahead of the price tags and prioritise texture, taste and complexity. These chardonnays and rosés will add depth to your cellar as well as expand your tasting horizons.

Now that the door has closed on 2021 and we’ve started settling into 2022, it’s time to take the best memories of last year and tuck them away. It’s also time to look only forward, make plans for all the things you know you must, can or want to do, and then write them on your list.

If one of the items on your list is to drink less – but drink better – then I’m with you. If you are already across that line or just need some wine inspiration, take a look at some of these wine gems I recently discovered.

Wine quality is nearly always driven by a combination of vineyard conditions such as the health of the soil, the care of the fruit, the weather leading up to harvest, and the winemaking team. This can mean that in excellent years such as 2019, 2020 and 2021, wine quality can be very high at a range of price points. Grape variety or wine styles are often among the first things we think of when buying wine, before price – chardonnay and rosé are good examples. Chardonnay can be lean and minerally or bold and creamy, sometimes with plenty of toasty wood flavours. Rosé comes in many colours or hues, can be vibrant with a fine velvet texture and a core of red or yellow fruits, or silky textured with darker fruit flavours, grainy tannins and made with biodynamically grown fruit.

This month’s wine selections are about texture and taste, as well as hidden layers of complexity and flavour. These choices are not about big spending, but more of an invitation to diversify your wine selections and explore – even more – how your palate works and what you like.