HILLTOPS FIANO FEATURES

Rhymes with piano… Fiano is a southern Italian grape variety that is tweaking curious wine palates, and inevitably those of innovative grape growers.  A recent industry seminar focused on Fiano, and its impressive suitability to Australian terroir, especially in elevated regions like the NSW Hilltops.  Small plantings already exist in the Hilltops and several wines made from the variety, which originally calls Puglia home, were tasted at the seminar.

They included Collector Wines Summer Swarm Fiano 2018, Grove Estate Fiano 2019 and Whitton Farm Fiano 2019.  Other local NSW fianos tasted were Tumblong Hills Fiano 2019 and Linear Fiano 2019 (Gundagai).

The general consensus was that fiano is a relatively easy variety to grow and oenologically versatile, with the capacity to create a variety of styles from zingy aromatic young easy sipper wines to medium-weighted complex wines with straw notes and a palate frame similar to chardonnay.

Watch this space…