There’s a bracing reality to her perspective: you can plan for next week, next year and even the next decade as you tend your grapes. You can learn from history and anticipate the varietals and wine styles that will thrive in the future. But unless you work with the elements – from the soil, the climate and what Cooter calls “the good with the bad” as seasons unfold – then there’s probably heartache ahead.
That’s why increasing numbers of Australian vineyards and wineries are adopting sustainable practices – more than 40 per cent of the 2023 vintage’s total tonnage was certified sustainable, or 32 per cent of total vineyard area, according to Sustainable Winegrowing Australia.
It’s good for the environment but it also makes good business sense. Such a philosophy includes focusing on grape varietals that will thrive as climatic conditions change and summers get hotter.
A prime example is fiano, the southern Italian grape whose popularity has been climbing here since the first commercial releases 20 years ago.
That can be explained in part by its adaptability for winemakers – delivering different flavour profiles depending on the region – but also its disease-resistant thick skins, and high levels of natural acidity that add a delicious lick of freshness to wines hailing from some of our warmest regions.
“That’s the best thing about fiano, actually – it has a longer ripening period yet it retains its acidity, which is not a common thing we find in whites here,” says Cooter, a second-generation winemaker whose father, Walter Clappis, made his name as the 20-year owner of McLaren Vale stalwart Ingoldby.
The Hedonist 2024 Fiano – rated 94 points by the Halliday Wine Companion – is one of the quartet of highly rated spring wines in this week’s special offer case from The Australian Wine Club. It keeps succulent company with Thistledown’s The Great Escape Adelaide Hills Chardonnay (92 points, Halliday Wine Companion), the Ponting Rianna Rose and the Risky Business Great Southern Rose, with 95 points at the National Cool Climate Wine Show.
McLaren Vale has led the way in moving towards sustainable winemaking, the local trade body helping to draft what are now national standards. Both the Hedonist wines and those from the Cooter & Cooter vineyard Kimberly runs with husband James are made using certified biodynamic and organic grapes and winemaking practices.
It was by taking a long-term view that Hedonist decided to pull out merlot grapes and plant fiano a few years ago.
“We wanted a white wine for a long time, and there are a few that have sort of come and not stayed – I guess vermentino’s here, but it’s not a hero variety of McLaren Vale,” Kimberly Cooter says.
“But fiano I think has really found its place here, it’s that acidity and a bit of texture too. There’s so many comparisons between McLaren Vale and southern Italy, not just the heat (in summer) and the mild winters, but even the coastal influence.
“The 2024 is only the second one we’ve made, but we feel like we learned a lot in 2023. With the 2024, we’ve sort of played around a lot more with the pressings and tried to get a really nice balance of texture there.
“We don’t want a tannic white, but having a little bit of texture there makes it a really beautiful, food-friendly wine.”
The Hedonist McLaren Vale Fiano 2024
The warm breeze of spring hits you from the first sniff, carrying stone fruits, floral notes and a touch of honey on the nose, some green apple too, and opening up to nougat and mandarin. The texture Kimberly Cooter loves is evident on the palate, with flavours of grapefruit, citrus and apple and mandarin again following through. Grilled, oily fish would be some foil. 94 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 12.5% alc, $RRP $28 a bottle.
SPECIALS: $26.99 in any dozen, $18.99 in our spring dozen.
Thistledown The Great Escape Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2023
Solitary confinement would have been a lot easier for Steve McQueen in The Great Escape if he’d had a bottle of this to hand. A pale straw hue hints at the stone fruit, citrus and caramel nougat on the nose, then more citrus, stone fruits and creamy, toasty oak come through on the palate. A touch of salinity adds to a good length. 92 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 12.5% alc, RRP $32 a bottle.
SPECIALS: $29.50 in any dozen, $18.99 in our spring dozen.
Ponting Rianna Rose 2024
Everything you’d want in a springtime rose is to the fore – a pretty, pale pink in the glass, big scents of strawberry, apple and pomegranate on the nose, and a palate suffused with raspberry, blood orange and grapefruit – even a hint of fairy floss. A crisp acidity on the finish reinforces how refreshing and delicate it is. 13% alc, RRP $25 a bottle.
SPECIALS: $22.99 in any dozen, $18.99 in our spring dozen.
Risky Business Great Southern Rose 2023
It’s not just the pale salmon-pink colour that suggests how good this would be with a piece of grilled fish – it’s also the strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate and red currant on the nose, and more red berries plus some grapefruit pith and red apple on the palate. Add a lovely fresh acidity and it’s a winner. 95 points, National Cool Climate Wine Show. 13% alc, RRP $22 a bottle.
SPECIALS: $17.99 in any dozen, $18.99 in our spring dozen.
SPRING DOZEN: Three bottles of each wine above for $18.99 a bottle. SAVE $93.
Order online or phone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST and quote ‘ACCJ’. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550. Stockhead is partnering with The Australian Wine Club on this offer.
Dining and Cooking