Aglianico: This southern Italian grape makes full-bodied, dark-fruited wines with firm tannins. Try Beach Road, La Prova, Sutton Grange
Cinsault: Commonly blended, this grape – prevalent in France’s Languedoc region – makes pretty, floral wines.
Try Smallfry Wines, Brash Higgins, Year Wines
Montepulciano: Resulting wines can show red fruits and savoury characters, and are particularly great with full-flavoured dishes.
Try Catlin, Woodstock, Whistling Kite
Nero d’Avola: This Sicilian grape creates rich wines with dark fruits and a little spice.
Try Zerella Wines, Mount Horrocks, Unico Zelo
Tempranillo: The Spanish grape makes the food-friendly, approachable reds of Rioja.
Try Juniper, Wines by KT, S.C. Pannell
Tinta barroca: From Portugal, this grape is traditionally used for fortifieds, but makes rich wines with firm tannins.
Try Ricca Terra Vintners, Terra do Rio
Saperavi: This native Georgian grape produces deeply coloured wine with high acidity.
Try Hugh Hamilton, Patritti, Massena
Tannat: Originally from France, this grape variety makes deeply coloured, tannic wines.
Try Boireann, Wines by Geoff Hardy, Hither & Yon
White varieties
Arinto: This Portuguese grape creates wines with citrus notes and good acidity.Try Dell'uva, Stanton & Killeen, Ricca Terra
Bianco d’Alessano: A southern Italian grape commonly used in blends.
Try Salena Estate, Delinquente Wine Co, Bellwether Wines
Clairette: Often used to produce vermouth, this grape has very low natural acidity.
Try Spinifex, Yangarra, Jb Josephs
Fiano: This Italian grape makes diverse, textural wines with bright acidity.
Try Rutherglen Estates, Serafino, Tellurian
Slankamenka bela: An ancient grape from the Balkans that shows tropical fruits and nutty notes.
Try Amato Vino
Ugni blanc/trebbiano: Originally from Italy, this grape can make a bright, fresh style of wine.
Try Simao and Co, Campbells, Torzi Matthews
Vermentino: From Sardinia, this grape makes textural wines that pair beautifully with oily fish.
Try Yelland and Papps, Chalmers, Oliver’s Taranga
Zibibbo/muscat d’Alessandria: A versatile Southern Italian grape used for dessert wines, sparklings and more.
Try Brash Higgins, DogRidge Wine Company, Brown Brothers
This is an edited extract of an article by David Sly that first appeared as “Grape Hunters” in Halliday magazine.
