Deep Dive: Australia's Best Fiano
18 March 2022. Words by YGOW.
The southern Italian grape fiano has had a relatively meteoric rise in Australia. It’s not quite ready to push chardonnay, pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc off the podium anytime soon, but in a tick over 15 years it has risen to be readily identifiable by both keen wine drinkers and those more casual. But it’s not that long ago that the grape was nearing extinction in its homeland, with the low-yielding vines shunned for more productive varieties. But a renaissance in its ancestral region of Campania was followed by a push into warmer zones – such as Sicily – that was shadowed by a similar, albeit more modest, investment in our own arid zones. Today, with well over 50 makers turning out examples, fiano has found its second home here. And, naturally, that necessitates a deep dive.
We gathered every Australian varietal fiano we could find and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines. Below are the wines that made the panellists’ top-six selections from the tasting.
Our panel: Dr Ray Nadeson, owner and winemaker Lethbridge Estate; Isabelle Szyman, wine buyer Rathdowne Cellars; Abby Moret DipWSET, owner Atlas Vinifera; Michael Trembath, director Trembath & Taylor; James Scarcebrook, owner and winemaker Vino Intrepido; Kara Maisano DipWSET, Wine Director Masani; Iona Baker DipWSET, Trembath & Taylor. All wines were tasted blind.
2021 Vino Volta ‘So Well Then’ Fiano, Swan District $30 RRP
Nadeson accorded this top place for the tasting, while it also featured in Baker’s top three. Nadeson felt that many wines in the tasting were in either a chardonnay or a sauvignon blanc mould in terms of style. “However, the wines that most interested me where ones that highlighted wine characteristics that are more unique to fiano,” he wrote. “Wine 43 ticked the fiano boxes for me. The wine showed a gorgeous density and viscosity, while retaining all the zip and drive of lively acidity.
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