Red wine: Branching out

2008 Pete's Shed Guinea Pig Block and 2007 Trinity Hill Gibblett Gravels Tempranillo. Photos / Martin Sykes

When it comes to red wines, our first foray was with cabernet sauvignon and associated blends. Then came a surge in popularity and demand for pinot noir, and, latterly, a healthy interest in syrah.

Along the way there have been mild flirtations with gamay noir, pinotage, montepulciano, nebbiolo, sangiovese and zinfandel, to name but a few.

While we all have our tipple of choice and are often loathe to test something different, we ought to at least give less familiar varietals a fair go — we may be pleasantly surprised. Tempranillo doesn't take up a lot of shelf space at your wine shop, because there's not a lot of it.

Tempranillo thrives in really hot environs, and cool climate regions like ours can be unsuitable.

It's a different story if you're in Spain, where it's bigger than Penelope Cruz.

The tempranillo charge in New Zealand is being led by Trinity Hills' frontman John Hancock.

"2002 was our first vintage and ever since all the vintages have won a fair few medals and trophies both here and in Australia," he says. "We make about 1000 cases annually and sell it mainly in New Zealand and to quite a few restaurants."

Now there is a new player in the market — Peter Yealands of Marlborough's Yealands Estate. "It's just a tiny experimental run crafted from small parcels of carefully selected fruit," says winemaker Tamra Washington.

"It's wonderful with paella." If you're looking for traditional Spanish tempranillo, Taupo's Scenic Cellars carries a fine selection. The 2008 Artero ($16) from La Mancha, the largest wine-producing region in the world, is an excellent advertisement for this littleknown style.

Recommended

2008 Pete's Shed Guinea Pig Block
Yealands Estate's first foray into tempranillo with grapes from Marlborough's Awatere Valley. Light, inviting. Prune, fig and eucalypt characters.
Price $17-20

2007 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Tempranillo
Biggish, complex style with ripe blackberry flavours and mellow tannins. May be drunk young.
Price $30ish