Jo Marsh is helping to shed light on the Alpine Valleys and less-common varieties. Case in point is her 2022 fiano, which embraces the coolly fragrant side of the grape, with floral, apple and pear notes, and a pleasing grip closing out.
Fiano is often talked about in a warm climate context, with Sicily as the reference point, but the grape’s spiritual home is in the mountainous volcanic cool of Irpinia, Campania. And there’s an almost Alpine sense of purity here, with lush grasses and wildflower notes scenting white pear and green apple, giving this a crystalline elegance and freshness. That carries through to the textural palate, but the interest goes up a notch with the phenolic impact of the grape cinching in the flesh with a pithy, grippy feel that closes with a green almond note to add even more detail.
An ancient southern Italian grape – with its documented history stretching back to the Roman Empire – fiano produces wines from the thrillingly taut and mineral to the boldly flavoured and textured. It’s seen major growth in this country, with regions as disparate as the Adelaide Hills and the Riverland showing equal promise. The flavour spectrum of fiano is a broad one, with the adaptability of the grape to different conditions meaning that expressions vary considerably. From its classic Territory in Avellino, Italy, the wines can be vibrant and racy, marked by the volcanic tufa in which they are grown, along with cool citrus and pear aromas. Those flavours can develop into riper pear notes, with honey, nuts and orange-skinned citrus developing. In quite warm conditions, stone fruit and some tropical aromas will develop, with the ripest examples becoming relatively exotic and richly textured, though typically still with vibrant supporting acidity.
In Victoria’s north-east, the Alpine Valleys is a relatively modest wine region, with around 260 hectares planted compared to its neighbour to the east, the King Valley, with over 1,500 hectares. As the name suggests, this is generally lofty territory, with a large diurnal temperature range due to the continental climate. Prosecco is the most planted variety, with chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot gris and sauvignon blanc filling out the top five. Outside of those familiar grapes, an increase in emerging varieties is seeing new heroes slowly emerge, such as pinot blanc, fiano and friulano.
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