Zenit

There are a few Z's to aim at in the world of white grapes, none of them particularly easy to find in the UK, but I didn't know that Zenit was one of them until I went looking for Zibibbo. As it turns out, Zibibbo is just a local name, in Sicily, for Muscat of Alexandria so it was good to find a less well known variety.

Zenit comes from Hungary (yes, we're back in Hungary) not that far from Budapest, where in 1951 it was created as a crossing between a local variety, Ezerjo, and Bouvier which hails from Slovenia. It is an early ripening variety and quite versatile, capable of producing light dry wines and also sweeter late harvest (hurrah!) wines.

Week Z (2014) is Viale Mandorlato, Etyek-Buda, Zenit, 2012. £7.99 from Laithwaites.

This wine is not the late harvest variety but a dry, Citrus and apple flavoured simple white wine.

It is a bright lemon yellow with limited aromas and moderate acidity.

Overall it is pleasant but unspectacular. At the price this is a good wine, simple and clean fruits with some gentle hints of the creamy products of having sat on it's lees (dead yeast cells) for 'a few months', as the back label informs.

The grapes were picked by hand in late August but there is no lack of ripeness in evidence in the finished wine. That would confirm the early ripening nature of the variety and makes me curious to try a late harvest version which I imagine could be very interesting.

Etyek is one of Hungary's oldest wine producing regions, on the Buda side of the river Danube, and also the home to Korda Studios, named for Sir Alexander Korda the British-Hungarian film producer who was in Hollywood during the start of the 'talkies'.

Those of you who have accompanied me on the first walk through the alphabet (actually it's been a lonesome trail to this point, so this probably an extended indication of impending insanity) will be now have joined me in a virtual glass of 13 red and 13 white wines. Next week we start back at A, but this time the colours will be the other way round. I am pleased that we are still on track for 52 new wines this year but am already starting to wonder how the following chapters will be structured. More of the same? I don't mind if I do.

Yering Farm

The One says that I must make good use of the opportunities that life presents, so on finding myself at something of a loose end shortly after arriving in Melbourne I booked myself a day trip on the Wine Bus.

Nine visitors together with our friendly, informative guide and driver, Paul, set off on a very wet Sunday morning to visit four wineries in the Yarra valley. My choice of tour was, of course, influenced by the region providing me with an easy answer to this week's challenge. When I heard the last of the four was to be Yering Farm my choice was made even simpler; I was just left hoping they produced something worth buying.

The four wineries demonstrated very well the variety of approaches that they take towards attracting tourists. The first was Domain Chandon owned as the name suggests by LVMH, the international luxury brands group whose 'M' stands for Moet. The wines they make here include what the French won't let the Australians, or anyone else for that matter, call Champagne. The marketing approach was polished and perhaps a little too well organised. Unlike other wineries the question here was 'which one would you like to try?'. It was possible pay to try other wines, but later in the day that was certainly not the expectation, especially at the second one Oakridge, where it was more a case of 'you need try all of these!', including their new Arneis variety (a white grape from Piedmont) which was not even on the list. Good lunch, too.

The third was Soumah, where they are attempting to make Italian styles of wine in this cool climate region. This was more of a boutique winery with a nice, family feel. The wine was pleasant, but the highlight of the visit was the live music provided by Steve and the Jammers. (I think it was Steve.) There was only one 'Jammer' who played the washboard and approximated harmonies.

Finally to Yering Farm, where I found:

Week Y (2014), Yering Farm, Reserve Series Pinot Noir, 2006. 13%
$40 (~£22) from the cellar door and listed at $50 on the website.

This was a lovely place with an old timber building housing the cellar door and tasting room, where weddings and other functions, are hosted overlooking the vineyards.

They had three ranges of wines, each with three to six wines, called Farm Yard, Premium and Reserve. This one came from the Reserve Series and was called Winemaker's Choice on the list in the shop.

As you can see from the homemade publicity shot to he left, this particular Australian producer does not feel inclined to meet EU labeling requirements, nor should he, so it is not surprising that the information provided is minimal.

If it had a back label it would probably say something about fine rich tannins, silky and rich fruits and subtle oak. I tasted this over the course of a couple of evenings and found it smoothly interesting and pleasing, at first, more so on the return.

Whilst there is no label on the bottle there is an image of one on the website, however, I appreciate this is not a very good picture so to make up for that, here's a much better picture of a possum that I met at the winery:

Xarel.lo

I mentioned in week V (2014) that I had bought not only that week's wine but also a contender for this week's some time in advance at Borough Wines. Well, try as I did, I could not find an alternative whilst in the southern hemisphere. Xanadu Chardonnay was the closest I came, but I decided that wasn't close enough. I have bent the rules a few times recently and wanted to get back on track. The idea is to use the alphabet as a way of exploring and discovering new wines, not simply filling in the blanks.

Week X (2014) Viladellops Xarel.lo, Penedes DO 2012  Borough Wines £12.

This wine comes from the Spanish region of Penedes in Catalunya, the autonomous region whose capital is Barcelona.

It is made as a single varietal wine from the grape called Xarel.lo. I don't understand Spanish grammar at all so cannot explain the significance of the full stop in the middle of the name. It is also written as Xarel-lo, if that makes it easier? No.

The grape is more frequently encountered in the Spanish traditional method sparkling wine (don't say Champagne, the French will sue) Cava, where it is blended with Parellada and Macabeo to add body. It is also said that it is the aroma of Xarel.lo that can be used to help distinguish Cava from other sparkling wines.

But this is the still variety, however, and although it is labelled as a single varietal, it is in fact a blend of 80% Xarel.lo, 10% Viognier, 5% Chardonnay and 5% Macabeo. It comes from a winery that has been in production for 150 years, with a 19 year break from 1980. The grapes are grown 250m above sea level on poor chalky soil, which is ideal for the purpose.

In colour it is a very bright and clear pale lemon yellow. It has a light aroma of melon and some floral notes, but nothing I could name. It is dry and instantly likable to taste, in a bright fruity way with greater intensity on the palate than on the nose. It opens with apples and finishes with more citrus flavours and possible a little pineapple.

It feels reasonably full and has a slight oily texture, and at 12.5% abv it is nicely balanced.

By chance, I shall be in the area at the end of the week after next and will keep a lookout in the local shops, either for this or for anything that might make an interesting comparison.

Woodstock

Even if you have yet to visit Sydney it is likely that you have some mental picture of one part of it. That will be the part with the famous opera house and the harbour bridge. In between those to iconic structures lies the port area known as Circular Quay. It is an area full of attractive things, from excellent restaurants, bars and views, to those catering specifically for tourists, like the didgeridoo players in traditional body paint and accompanied by less traditional drum and bass loops.

This is also where cruise ships are berthed when visiting the city and it is only when you stand next to one that their sheer size becomes apparent. Anyway, just over the road from Circular Quay, towards the city, is Alfred Street where I found the Australian Wine Centre, down a flight of steps and in a basement.

I was looking for this week's selection and had already decided that my chances of finding a bottle of Wildbacher were slim, so was expecting to make my selection on a basis other than grape variety.

I found something relatively local and also something I had never tasted before.

Week W (2014) is Woodstock, McLaren Vale Vintage Fortified Shiraz. 2005. $24.90 (~£13.70) for a half bottle.

As I have said before, I like dessert wines and I like Port, so I was expecting to like this. It is 18% abv, so I was glad this was a small bottle and I wasn't going to have to wrestle with myself about whether it would be worse to waste some or to have a monumental headache.

The colour is deep, dark and intense purple and it leaves tears clinging to the side of the glass reflecting the strength of the wine.

It smells interestingly like blackcurrant Christmas cake, with hints of other things and I could be persuaded that one of them was a dark chocolate mint KitKat.

On first reading you may think 'alcoholic Ribena' may be a damning description, but it isn't intended to be so. It does have powerful blackcurrant flavours and unmistakable alcoholic content, but it also has spicy complexity and a great long finish.

It is mouth-filling and has almost enough body enough to chew so it is possible to enjoy it by itself, but so much better with a creamy blue cheese. It won't replace Port in my affections, but I would certainly buy it again if it ever came within reach.