Hang time, phenolic ripeness and overdelivering have been the buzzwords of winemakers and marketers for some time. After spending the past few days in the Yarra Valley, the new phrases appear to be ‘natural winemaking’ and ‘hands-off approach’. If only I had a dollar for every time someone had said that to me over the last 48 hours, I would be able to retire early
No longer is interventionist winemaking cool in this part of the New World. It is poo-poohed. Adding yeast to get the ferments going? No thanks, said more than 75% of the producers I met. Nice, new barrels? No thanks, says Steve Webber of De Bortoli: “We’re using the oldest grottiest casks for our Sauvignon Blancâ€. Fining and filtering the wine? Don’t you dare. Webber believes “there is greater interest in wines that don’t have the soul fined or filtered out of them.â€
Certainly there are interesting developments giving less fruit-forward, more textured wines in the Yarra. It seems that winemakers aren’t doing very much if they are to be believed. So what are they going to do with all that extra time on their hands? Drink beer? That’s my guess.
