Randall Grahm predicts a future with nutritional wines

Published: 07 November, 2011

Maverick Californian winemaker Randall Grahm predicted a Garden of Eden-style world of future vineyards making nutritional wines that are deemed to be good for you.

Speaking at the start of the second day of Wine Future in Hong Kong he imagined a future of winemaking that involved not only making "great" wine, but wines that "are good for you". He said these wines would possess a "life force" a sense of "chi" that would transcend the way in which wine is currently discussed and analysed.

Winemakers, he added, would have to become skilled in understanding how they can make use of the biotic potential of soils, or make soils "smarter", particularly in areas where climate change will be most prominent.

He envisaged future vineyards becoming "gardens of promiscuous plantations" where fruit trees and other vegetation would live side by side with vines.

He was joined during a session looking at future wine styles and regions by wine consultants Michel Rolland, and wine critics Michel Bettane, Stephen Spurrier and Tim Atkin MW.

They were united in picking out wine regions around the Black Sea as having the most untapped potential for winemaking be it around Bulgaria, Romania and Georgia through to the Russian Black Sea areas.

Spurrier also picked out Vermintino, particularly from Tuscany, Cabernet Franc and English sparkling wine as his three stand out areas of opportunity.

Whilst English sparkling wine would continue to be a niche market the quality and winemaking skills, would ensure they continue to give Champagne houses a run for their money in future international wine competitions.

Grahm said there was potential all over the world and "genius in every grape variety, you just have to look for it".

Tim Atkin MW also singled out Turkey for particular attention and the quality of its indigenous grape varieties. But concluded: "Maybe the greatest terroir in the world is yet to be discovered."

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