The vintners behind Victoria’s Range Life proudly claim that their wines are ‘hard to pronounce, but easy to drink’. Indeed, there is a decidedly Italian theme running through this winery, with Prosecco, Garganega and Sangiovese wines spearheading the operation, and proving that this part of Australia really might be one of the most flexible and varied wine regions in the country. With their bold, funky retro label designs, and bright, sunny flavours, Range Life have cornered the market when it comes to seeking out something authentic, cool and more than a little different on the Aussie wine scene.
While traditional Italian grape varietals are used to great effect at Range Life, the methods the winemakers use range between the traditional and the modern, cherry-picking the best of both worlds to produce wines which are worthy of their labels. Low yields and minimal intervention ensures that quality and expression is high, and the stunning terroir the vines grow on allows these grapes to take on some of the more distinctive characteristics of Victoria, meaning these aren’t just carbon copies of Italian classics.
Quick lesson in sparkling wines of the world! Amongst others, France does Champagne, Spain does Cava, Italy does Prosecco. Each of these are stylistic names, not grapes. In the case of Prosecco, the grape we’re dealing with is called Glera. In Australia it’s not all that common, but is planted a fair bit in the King Valley in the north east of Victoria. Australia doesn’t have a historic style of sparkling wine – instead we grow whichever grapes we want and then make a huge range of styles. Lucky us! This is a great aperitif. Zingy and fresh, with lots of green apple, pear and white melon. Just a touch of sugar in there to round out the palate, but lots of chalk and lemony acidity to finish. Makes you want another glass…
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