THE TEMPRANILLO TWIST

IS IT strange to see a cheer squad of Aussie winemakers barracking for the Spanish grape variety tempranillo? Well, maybe not. Consider a parallel universe, suggests Louisa Rose (pictured), chief winemaker for Yalumba and big tempranillo fan. In this universe Australian wine pioneers John Macarthur and George Wyndham did not plant shiraz but tempranillo and James Busby, the father of the Australian wine industry, did not bring shiraz out from France but detoured to take tempranillo from Spain. What if tempranillo and not shiraz had grown up as the red wine grape of Australia, she asks. Well, we would have a grape every bit as exciting and as well suited to the Australian climate.

The synergy in style between shiraz and tempranillo has been noted before but now, suggests Louisa, just like with shiraz we are starting to see the evolution of regional features in the Spanish grape. Regionality was this year's topic for the second annual TempraNeo! tasting conducted by a group of Australian winemakers, including Louisa. The group has six founding members: Running With Bulls (Yalumba, Barossa Valley), Gemtree Vineyards (Barossa Valley), Mount Majura Vineyard (Canberra), Mayford (Alpine Valleys), La Linea (Adelaide Hills) and Tar & Roses (Heathcote).

Their winemaking styles are disparate, ranging from the ultra-fresh and juicy through to licorice and spice to barnyardy earthiness. So just like, Aussie shiraz, it might be prudent to start thinking of not one or even two styles of tempranillo in this country. The grape is certainly versatile.