4 Up and Coming Wine Regions You Don’t Want to Miss

Ep 47

I’m so excited for today’s episode on 4 up and coming wine regions!

And what I love most about this topic is that a listener proposed this idea! I love chatting about anything you’re interested in hearing about!

Now, these regions may not necessarily be new in making wine (in fact some are quite old) but they ARE rising in popularity.

Join me as we explore four regions that each have a unique story and distinctive terroir that is catapulting them into the forefront of the wine industry

We will learn all about how Armenia is re-building their wine industry and producing wines that are the perfect combo of familiar and unique.

Then we’ll head back to the states to talk about wine being made in none other than New Jersey.

Finally we’ll discuss the amazing sparkling wines being made in England and why Elim, South Africa is being watched by the wine producing regions of the world due to its geographical location.

And you’ll want to listen to the end where I mention 11 more regions that you should be watching! (Because you know I can’t stop at just 4!)

So, are you ready to find a new region of wine to fall in love with? If so, press play!

Don’t forget to check out Storcia Wines where you can find Armenian wines https://www.storicawines.com/

Related episodes

What is an orange wine? https://www.corkandfizz.com/wine-blog/guide-to-wine-podcast-episode-18

Embracing hybrid grapes and creating unique wines with Wisconsin winemaker Erin Rasmussen

https://www.corkandfizz.com/wine-blog/guide-to-wine-podcast-episode-10

Episode Highlights:

• Up and coming wine regions and their history
• Wine production in Armenia
• Armenian wine varieties and producers
• Armenian styles of wine
• New Jersey as an emerging wine region
• New Jersey's focus on hybrid and international grapes
• Producers to look for in New Jersey
• England as an up and coming wine region
• England’s emphasis on sparkling wine
• Producers to look for in England
• Climate changes effect on wine production
• Wine production in Elim, South Africa
• Producers to look for in South Africa
• 11 additional areas to look at for up and coming wine regions

Transcript

0:06

I am super excited for today's episode. The topic of the episode actually comes from one of my followers when I put out a request for some ideas, and she also happens to be one of my core crew members. So shout out to you, Donna. This was an amazing topic idea. I had so much fun doing the research, and I definitely could see having a part 2 coming up sometime soon, but we are gonna be talking about 4 up and coming wine regions. And I'm really excited to talk about these. Now keep in mind these aren't regions that are, like, necessarily new in making wine. They're just gaining in popularity or doing, you know, some exciting things as of recently that we wanna have an eye on them here in the wine world. And just as a reminder, you know, you do not have to be a court crew member to give me a topic idea. You don't have to wait for me to ask. You are always welcome to send me any ideas that you have that you'd like me to talk about on the podcast here. Just send me a message on Instagram, Haley. Just send me a message on Instagram atquorkandfizz, or send me an email, hailey@quorkandfizz.com. Alright. Let's dive into these 4 regions. We're going to start off with Armenia. And the interesting thing here so with each of these regions, what we're gonna talk about, I'm gonna cover the history. I'm gonna cover why it's kind of up and coming. We're gonna go into the terroir. Remember, that's just fancy word for, like, the place, the geography, the weather, and then we'll talk about styles of wine and some producers to look out for. So, like I said, with region at number 1, Armenia, what's really interesting is Armenia is basically the opposite of the new wine region. So remember, these are up and coming, but not necessarily totally new. Evidence of winemaking dates back at least 6000 years in Armenia. There's actually a biblical reference in which Noah planted vineyards in the Arat Valley after his ark arrived at Mount Arat and the floods receded. This country is home to the world's oldest known wine for some reason, that was hard to say. This country is home to the world's oldest known winery, the Arani one cave, which that will sound familiar because it's actually one of the grapes as well, Arani noir. But this cave is the oldest the oldest excavated. I keep wanting to say evacuated. I'm like, that's not the right word. The oldest excavated winemaking facility in the world. It spans several chambers and contains fermentation vats, a wine press, shards of ancient pottery, and more. And part of the wine world oh, never mind. I did not read my notes right. The thing is this area of the world, Armenia, is actually part of what's kinda considered the ancient world. So if you ever heard old world versus new world, that actually doesn't encompass what this region where this region is. It's actually in, like, what many call the ancient world as it came before the old world of Western Europe. Now you're like, okay. But, like, so why is it up and coming? Why don't we all drink Armenian wines all the time? Well, unfortunately, their wine industry crumbled under Soviet rule. This has been since the 19 twenties and then up until 1994 when Armenia gained its independence. The thing is when, Soviet rule took over, Georgia was designated the winemaking hub. Now that's not to say George like, we don't drink Georgian wines very much either, that's because it was mainly they were told to make wine in bulk, so they didn't have a lot of independent wine producers. But Armenia was basically designated as a place that would make brandy. So they didn't have much winemaking at all until just recently, but, luckily, things are changing. So why this place is pretty cool? I mean, you get to watch this whole wine renaissance that's happening and the rebuilding of the wine industry basically in real time. It only really started about 15 years ago. The wines coming out of Armenia are this perfect combination of familiarity and uniqueness that is intriguing to consumers looking for something new, but, you know, you don't want something too new, so this is the place to go. They also make a lot of great orange wine. It is a specialty here, and it's personal. It's actually the process of making orange wine revives an ancient tradition here in Armenia where everyone basically made their own wine. Every household made their own wine. They would simply put crushed grapes with their skins and everything into a large amphora made of terracotta and then seal those with beeswax and bearing them into the ground to age. And this is actually a process that many wineries now in Armenia are bringing back and using to make their orange wine. So orange wine, if you ever thought it was a new thing that just randomly came up, it's actually a very, very ancient way of making white wine. And if you wanna learn more, I believe I have an episode earlier in the podcast all about orange wine. I don't have the number, but just go back and search for orange wine and you'll find it. Now in terms of the terroir, again, we're kinda talking about the land, the geography, the climate here. This is a mountainous country and they have high elevation vineyards. So anywhere between 2,000 to 45100 feet above sea level. This means they receive direct and concentrated sunlight. They experience dramatic diurnal shifts. So, again, diurnal shift is where the temperature in the daytime is grapes can ripen during the day, but then they lock in flavor and acidity at night and get to kinda chill out, and and so it doesn't go too fast. It's like, run forward a little bit, pause. Run forward a little bit, pause. Right? So that diurnal shift lets the ripening period go longer, which lets us develop more flavors. So these fruit, they develop thicker skins and concentrated flavors. Plus, from those thicker skins, they get strong tannins that are perfect for age worthy wines. Another special thing about the terroir here in Armenia, they have volcanic soil. And honestly, I feel like it's like all the rage right now, so this is definitely one of those reasons why it could be up and coming. Everyone is loving volcanic wines, but you also see some areas of limestone and clay in the southern part of the country. When it comes to the volcanic soil, it's good drainage. It encourages those grapevines to extend the roots deep into the earth, and then it tends to result in a lot of minerality in the wine. If you ever had a wine from Etna in Italy, this is also a wine made from volcanic soil. Now for the limestone soil, like I said, there's limestone and clay in the southern part. That limestone soil, retains moisture in dry weather, so it makes it really well suited for climactic shifts in case there are some dry spells when they are making or growing the grapes. So talking about styles of wine here, there are lots of indigenous grape varieties, which I love. So indigenous just meaning grapes that are local to that area versus kind of the, more popular international varieties. And here, they make red, white, sparkling, sweet, orange, obviously, as well. In terms of some of those indigenous grape varieties, there's Voscat. This, means golden berry, and it's similar to Chardonnay. Again, for the Chardonnay haters, I don't want it to turn you away from that, but it's pretty cool. It can create both a barrel fermented or non barrel fermented, so think the oaked versus unoaked, has similar kind of golden apple, and a little bit of like, honey notes to it, but not sweet. Keep that in mind. Honey is an aroma, not necessarily a sweetness. And then you have Areni Noire. Hopefully, I'm saying that right. It's a r e n I, Noire. This is one that I've actually had. This is one of the only Armenian wine varieties that I've had, but it's very fresh and juicy. It can also be made a little bit more bolder in something that's age worthy, but a lot of people equate this similar to a pinot noir. There's also Tozolt. It is t o z o t, and this is similar if it's made really well. It can be similar to a Beaujolais, which is made from Gamay. And then there's also Cungun, which I did not find anything on that to tell you about, but, hey, if you find it, you should try it. In terms of techniques that they use here for their wine, again, you see that Amphora aging coming up. Those are those big terracotta pots. And then also they have this practice of Akani, and this is a careful drying of grape bunches hung on ropes. And so you'll see this in a lot of different areas of the world of drying grapes, but I've never heard of drying them hung from ropes. I usually hear about them, like, in, Chianti. They do it, like, where they dry them out on straw mats, And I'm trying to think of other areas too where it's typically, like, drawn out when they're, like, they're all set aside, not hung, which is kinda cool. Now in terms of producers to look out for when I was doing my research, one thing that came up with that was actually pretty cool for all my American listeners. Storica Wines is actually an importer of Armenian wine that you can actually buy the wine from as well online. This was founded by Zach Armen, a second generation Armenian American in 2018, and so he imports a lot of these wines to the US and has bottles available on his website. So it's storica, storica.com, and also include that link in the show notes so you can try these out. For Canadian listeners, since I know that it's also a decent bunch of you listening, I found this importer called Kine d o u n. They are an importer bringing Armenian wine to SAQ and LCBO stores. Hopefully, you know what I'm talking about because I'm not as familiar with these things. So definitely ask at your local LSBO or LSBO, and then also at your local wine shops and see if they can bring in some of these Armenian wines. But in terms of producers, so those are just people bringing in the wine. Some producers, you have Van Aardi. It's van space a r d I. This is found on Storica. This is Armenian's first post Soviet boutique winery. They're located in Aragonstond, a historic winemaking region in the foothills of Mount Aragats. It's an organic wineries founded by a man named Roussan Moridian. They make a lot of, varietal already, so that already noir, Then they also make complex red blends made with the indigenous red grapes. Another winery to look out for, Trinity Canyon Vineyards. This winery came up when I was looking up orange wines in Armenia. So this place uses the traditional method for making that orange wine. I believe it's called their ancestors orange wine. Then we have Zuora wines. This is actually one of the only Armenian wines I've had. I founded a local wine shop here in Seattle. I think I might still have one somewhere in off-site storage, that I'm aging to see what happens with it. But it's from a guy, who decided he wanted to work in wine, and he was planning on buying a vineyard in Tuscany, but he changed his mind in favor of heading to his ancestral roots in Armenia when he realized he could make wine there. So together with his wife, they embarked on a journey to restore traditional Viticulture values, and just make really great wine in a magical place. So definitely recommend I think I've had their white and a taste of their red. Like I said, I think that the full red bottle I must have had a taste at the wine shop probably, but that full bottle is in storage. I really hope. And now I'm like, oh, I gotta go check it out and see if it's still there because it'd be so good. And then the last one that's coming up is Keush. This is k e u s h. So it was founded in 20 13 by Vahe Keshkarian. I hope I'm saying that right. Kush is the first traditional method sparkling wine. Oh, god. When I read that, I was like, I need to find this wine. Don't mind me buying, like, a case of wine from Story Cook because I wanna try every Armenian wine they have, but it's a traditional method sparkling wine, meaning it's made in the same technique as champagne, but it's made from the indigenous Armanian grape varieties. And they also make these at more than 5 or the grapes are grown, I shouldn't say they make Well, they might make about wines, but the grapes are grown at, 5,000 feet above sea level. These are some of the highest vineyards in Armenia and among the highest vineyards in the world to produce this traditional method sparkling wine. So highly recommend all those. I'll try to do my best to list all of them in the show notes as well so it's easy to kinda come back and look for those. But that is our first kind of up and coming region to keep an eye on would be Armenia. Now region number 2, we are gonna surprise a lot of you. I kinda wish I could see your face when I say what region number 2 is, but obviously, you're listening to this, and that'd be creepy if I was watching you, so let's not imagine that anymore. But region number 2 is New Jersey. Yeah. They're making wine in New Jersey, and hold on, hold on. I know what you're thinking. You're like, wow. What's the quality of wine there? That's what a lot of people say until they try the wine. So this is one that's on my bucket list to now try and find because I've heard such really great things, but okay, let me tell you about it. So fun fact, New Jersey's wine making history actually started back in the mid 1700. Great Britain's, and this was obviously when it was still a colony, Great Britain's Royal Society offered $200 to any colonist who could produce a red or white wine of acceptable quality. Essentially, like, they couldn't tell the difference between that wine and, like, a wine they'd bring in from France. So the thing is they actually offered a$100 first, but no one took them up on that. So when they offered $200, 2 guys, William Alexander, most common name ever, I think, of that time, and Edward Antal, both succeeded in their efforts and, won the $200. So they started making wine mid 1700. There was also a representative of a champagne house, champagne, France, of course, we're talking about, that established his own vineyards in New Jersey at one point as well. Of course, we have prohibition for the most part to blame for New Jersey being late to the modern winemaking game. There was actually a law that limited the number of wineries allowed to exist in the state. This law I ended up I did a little digging and I found it. It was only one winery or one winery license allowed for every 1,000,000 state residents. Like, what? And so, anyway, this law, luckily, was abolished in the 19 eighties, at which point there were only 7 wineries in New Jersey. That's probably all they were allowed. I don't know. What is the population of New Jersey? But now there are over 40 wineries, and nearly half of them have emerged in the last 10 years. So, again, super up and coming. Now in terms of why it's kinda making a name for itself and people are looking at it, there was actually this, event that happened back in 2012, so it has been over 10 years, but still it takes time, but it was called the judgment of Princeton. If y'all are familiar with the world of wine, a while back, there was this judgment of Paris event, which is what put California on the map. A winemaker some winemaker? No. It was a wine seller or importer who, wanted to sell more California wine, and so he put together a challenge or a competition where they would put California wine up against French wine because, like, French wine was determined to be the absolute best. Right? And it's like, well, let's do a blind competition of these 2 wines. And like he'd planned on like the California just being like good, like, people just being surprised by how good it was. But turns out, like, the one of the California wines are, I think, both red and white one, the California over France. And so, basically, it was this big old uproar. So, basically, it was this big whole uproar, but it put California in the map because it was like, they can make wine as good as France. So New Jersey is like, heck. We can do that. So they put together what they called the judgment of Princeton in 2012, and they did, 10 New Jersey wines, so 5 red and 5 white up against 5, I believe, red Bordeaux and 5 white burgundies. And turns out several of the wines, the New Jersey wines, outperformed their French rivals. And so the French wine took the top prize in the white wine category, so the white burgundy took the first place, but all 3 runners up, 2, 3, and 4 were New Jersey Chardonnays. And so, again, there were 10 total white wines that were in the competition. So those 3 wines beat out a lot of French wines, and so the big takeaway was there was really no significant difference between a New Jersey red blend in a first growth Bordeaux and a New Jersey Chardonnay and a premier cru Burgundy. And so, basically, like, heck, I I feel like that kinda proves you gotta try some New Jersey wine. And they're also kinda up and coming. They really like to put out this idea that they're equal parts classic technique, innovation, and fun, and then with this occasional kinda nod towards the state's Italian American culture. In terms of terroir, I couldn't find a whole lot. I did see that, one of the wineries kind of equated the area to similar to Bordeaux. So they say that the Terroir of New Jersey, it mirrors Bordeaux, France, and then you have the Delaware River, which mirrors the Bordeaux River, with similar climate effects. There are also actually 4 official AVAs that is 4 more than I would have thought existed, to be totally honest. And so remember, an AVA is basically it stands for American Viticultural Area. It means that this region know, is designated as, like, producing a certain style of wine that is different from other areas around it. So Napa Valley is an example of an AVA, so is Columbia Valley. Well, there are 4 of them in New Jersey. You have a Cape May Peninsula, Warren Hills AVA, Central Delaware Valley AVA, and the Outer Coastal Plain AVA. In terms of styles of wine here, you're gonna see both hybrids and international grapes. So in terms of styles here, you're gonna see both hybrid and international grapes. International being kind of like typical grapes that we're used to. So, you also see plantings of Italian varieties like Barbera and Nebbiolo on the rise. And then there's a huge diversity and that and they really like that. They think that it's, you know, the winemakers there in New Jersey are saying, listen, we don't wanna be known for one single varietal. You know, when you think of New York, you think of Riesling. When you think of, Napa Valley, you think of, Cabernet Sauvignon. They're like, nah. We can do a lot of different stuff. And so in terms of, like, leading varietals, for whites, you have this crazy mix mash of Alberino, Chardonnay, Gruner Veltliner, Petite Mansang, and Riesling. And then in terms of leading reds, you've got Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Blanc Franchesh, which is kinda crazy. Like, those are just such a mix of, like, when I think Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, those are all kind of Bordeaux style varieties. That's where they originated. Now Pinot Noir is burgundy. Right? It needs a cooler climate. And then is cooler even yet. It's grown primarily in Austria. And then, of course, they have these French American hybrids that do really well. Chamberson Chamberson. Try that again. Chamberson, Vidal Blanc, and Vignoles among many others. In terms of one popular style, there's actually a trademarked, wine, called Ciambrusco. This is made by Mike Benaduce. He's the winemaker at New Jersey's Benaduce Vineyards. Probably, Benaduce, actually, now that I think about it. Let me try that again. This wine, is actually made by Mike Benaduce, winemaker at New Jersey's Benaduce Vineyards, and he actually obtained trademark protection for this. So chambruisco. It is a light sparkling red wine made in the style of Lambrusco, but from that hybrid grape, Chamberson, which how fun is that? In terms of some in terms of some producers or wineries to look out for, obviously, there's that Benaduce Vineyards, that is located in Pittstown. It's in the Central Delaware Valley AVA. Obviously, they're known for that Trembrusco. They also, make Rieslings and Blas Franchesch for their more classical styles, But the winemaker, I think, is super smart, is also trying to reach a, you know, younger, still of drinking age audience, but and is making some really fun Gewurztraminer pet mats that a lot of people are really interested in. Then you have Auburn Road Winery. This is in Pillsgrove, and this is in the outer coastal plain AVA. This was founded by 2 attorneys from Philadelphia. Also, Also, for some reason, when I say from Philadelphia, I just wanna start singing the, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song. Anybody else just have that, like, running through their heads sometime? Anyway, Auburn Road Winery, they make a little bit of everything. They've got the Vita Spinifera, so the European grape varieties, the ones we're the most familiar with, along with those hybrid varietals. They also make sweet and dry wines. Their their goal is basically to have a wine for everyone. So no matter who in your part who's in your party, if they wanna drink wine, they will find a style that they will like at Auburn Road. And they're particularly proud of one of their dry roses that they make from sangiovese. And finally, we have Whitehorse Winery, in Hamilton. Of course, there's plenty more than this. I just chose 3 so we could keep moving on. But this is in the outer coastal plain AVA. The owner, Brock Vinton, worked in Beaujolais in France before opening up White Horse. They make Alberino, unoaked Chardonnay, and some Cabernet Franc wines. Their most popular wine though is a tart painted white estate blend that they call made with white Cayuga, which I believe is, hybrid. I think all of these are hybrid, actually. So white Cayuga, Vidal Blanc, Traminet, and I think that's it. I have Cayuga white grapes written again, but I think those are the same thing. So Cayuga, Vidal Blanc, and Traminet. So very interesting. I think hybrid grapes get a bad rep, but we are learning more and more about them. If you wanna learn more, I wanna say episode 10 is where I interview a winemaker in Wisconsin who is just, like, focused on these hybrid varieties and teaching people more about them. Okay. Region number 3. So we've gone Armenia. We've gone New Jersey. Option 3 is England. So, historically, England's been known more for drinking wine than producing it. They are consistently ranked in the top ten for countries in overall consumption, but they have they do have a history of making wine. The first grapevine arrived in English Shore on England Shores on England Shores? On the first grapevine arrived on England Shores thanks to Romans, and, you know, obviously, during the Roman Empire, they planted plenty of grapevines. After the fall of the Roman Empire, they were primarily maintained by Christian monasteries. It actually did really well during the middle ages, thanks to a little bit of a warmer period. But then the plague hit in 1348 and wiped out an estimated third of the population. Add to that that, the Protestant King Henry the 8th disbanded at Catholic monasteries in the mid 16th century, so there wasn't really anybody to look after all the vines. So commercial viticulture wasn't really rekindled until the mid 19 fifties sixties. So why is this region coming up now? It's all about the sparkling wine. And I've been talking about this for a couple years, so I don't think this is specific to 2024, but it has been just coming up in the recent years. Here's the thing. Global warming is having a major impact on winemaking regions, And the one place that we all think of for amazing sparkling wine, champagne, is has cooler temperatures or historically has had cooler temperatures, which is why they're able to make such great sparkling wine. That cooler temperature keeps the grapes super bright and acidic, which is what you need for a sparkling wine. And the thing is champagne is getting warmer just like every wine region. So moving further away from the equator is the way to go. And England essentially has the similar chalky soils, that you would find in champagne, which a lot of also equate to why they're able to make such great sparkling wine. So they have the chalky soils and they have the cooler climate. So total planted vineyard area in the UK has actually quadrupled since the year 2000. Now in terms of, we kinda already talked about. We've got the chalky soils, in the Sussex and Kent region, so kind of southern, southern England. Those regions mirror that of Champagne in terms of the type of soil in that cooler climate. Now we always think of England as being quite wet, but, again, those southern regions are a little warmer and a little drier than the rest of England, so that's where you'll find most of the vineyards. We have a few different regions. There's actually, from what I could tell, and correct me if I'm wrong if you're listening and you're like, no, that ain't it, but I think there's only one region with PDO, which is protected designation of origin status, and that is Sussex. And that was granted in 2022, And I think it might be one of the only ones for wine, and this is under the UK's geographical indication, scheme. So very similar, I think kinda think about, like, AVAs in the US, or AOCs in France. Like, you can only call it champagne if it comes from the champagne region. They're doing the same thing here with Sussex. It can only be called Sussex if it comes from that region and if it follows these certain standards that they set. So you have Sussex, you have Kent, Surrey, and Hampshire or other regions that are making some great wine. In terms of styles of wine, again, it's all about the sparkling. They do make, some still, AKA not sparkling wine, but I think it's all about the sparkling wine. And they make it primarily in that traditional method, so the same method as champagne. In terms of grapes, you're gonna see the classic champagne grapes. You're gonna see Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Mounier. You're also gonna see a few more unique varieties, and these are often used blended into the wine as well. So you might see Bacchus. This is a white German crossing of Sylvaner and Riesling, and I think also Muller Theroux. This was made a little while back, obviously, in Germany. And it makes aromatic wines, but they tend to be low in acidity. So, again, often used to blend to give that aromatic quality. Then you have Ortega. This is an early ripening white crossing of and. I think I've had 1 in my life, but I, like, cannot remember for the life of me what it was like. But, again, another variety developed in Germany, kinda makes sense. They're kinda sharing that super cool climate. This one has peach like aromas and is actually typically made into sweet wine. Then you have a civil Blanc. This is one that I've seen. This is a hybrid, that I've actually seen in the US plenty. And, again, here, it's, made into late harvest or the ice wine style of dessert wine. And then finally, you have Rhine Oh, boy. This one's a long one. It's German. Reichensteiner. This is the 5th most planted variety in England. It's high acid, and it's used a lot in the sparkling wines. Okay. In terms of producers to look out for, I have 5 of them listed here. So you have Hattingly Valley. This is in Hampshire. This is founded in 2,008, and, again, it was, you know, this belief of those chalky soils in the climate was perfectly suited for sparkling wine. Their winemaker, Emma Rice, really just makes these is making let me say that again. This winery is led by winemaker Emma Rice, but it was founded by Simon and Niccolo Robinson. But the thing is, Hadingly sparkling wines are just they're all made in the traditional method, and they're really leading the charge for English sparkling wine. Then you have Pomeroy. This is also in Hampshire. This is the famous champagne house that actually crossed the channel to start producing their own English, sparkling wine, which I'm sure they're not the only ones by any means, and there will be more happening soon. We also have Ridgeview. So this is in Sussex, and this is, winery that was established in 1995, by Mike and Christine Roberts. And this is actually the only non champagne house to ever win the decanter award for best sparkling wine in the world. So must be pretty damn good. Then you have Hush Heap. This is in Kent. They actually created this bespoke laboratory. It's allowed them to be more experimental, agile, and develop enormously, so I'm really curious to see kinda what comes out. Any winery that's willing to experiment a little bit, I think they can produce some really, really fun things. And finally, the last one last one is Gusborn. This winery is focused on just the classic grape varieties of champagne. So you have Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Moon Pinot Munier. But one difference, they only make vintage wines. If you remember, sparkling wine, a lot of times, is called non vintage because it's a mix of wines from different years. This place is only making vintage wine, so they only use the wines from each single year. Okay. Are you ready to learn about the last up and coming regions? So you've learned about Armenia. We've learned about New Jersey. We've talked about England. Now we're gonna talk about Ilim, South Africa, so the history of this place. Okay. Our final region, up and coming region that we're going to talk about is Elim, South Africa. And, yes, I did watch a funny YouTube video to find out how to pronounce Elim, because I had no idea. It's just e l I m, but I felt there were so many ways I could say that. So it's Elim, South Africa. History here, this region was launched by German missionaries who settled in the region in 19th century. Now the reason why we don't know about a lot or South African wine isn't super popular, especially for Americans at least. I'm not sure what this is like in other countries. But South Africa kinda got known for this pinotage wine that they make, and it can be really beautiful. But the problem is that what we got a lot in America were these low these low cost, low quality versions that tasted a bit like burnt rubber. So it literally put a bad taste in people's mouths, so they kind of turned away from South African wine. And then add to that the challenging politics, mainly thanks to apartheid, that affected sales of wine to the US and other countries, and this meant that South African wine struggled in an international market. But, again, luckily, a lot of this is changing. So this is up and coming because there are buyers that are tapped into the wine industry. They're becoming increasingly aware of the quality and value driven wines coming out of South Africa. And as this appeal grows, wine buyer is actually exploring beyond some of the well known South African regions like Stellenbosch to, you know, find out what else there is. And people have this desire to just explore beyond what is deemed the most popular or the most common, and I gotta say, I love it. Like, even just the fact that, Donna, that you asked for this podcast, this, like, I wanna hear about up and coming regions that people don't know about. I think that is super cool. It's like the best thing about wine because there's always new things happening. So in terms of the terroir here, Elam is right on this right on the southern coast. It is located at the southernmost tip of the Western Cape. It is hugged by 2 oceans, and it falls within the Agulhas district along the Cape South Coast. This is a very interesting geographical location. It's resulted in becoming one of the most closely watched wine producing regions in the world today. They have a cool maritime climate. They've got a perpetual wind coming off the sea. They also have high light intensity and very old soil compositions. In terms of the styles of wine that you're gonna find here, that cool climate and the granite shale the granite shale soil results in these white wines with high acidity, lots of tension, and zippiness. And they're primarily Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. They do also produce some red varieties here including Chiraz, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a bit of Merlot. And a reminder again, Shiraz is just the same thing as Syrah, but the Shiraz is what it's typically called in Australia and also, oddly enough, commonly in South Africa. Okay. Producers to look out for here. We have Trizann, t r I z a n n e, Trisanne Signature Wines, is a female founder, which is always very cool. And she really wanted to focus on cooler climates of South Africa's wine region, so this includes Elim. And I did find that her wines are imported into the US by Vine Street Imports, which oddly enough is an import company out of New Jersey. So a little fun connection there. So definitely ask your local wine shop if they can get this wine and so you can give it a try. She had a lot of really cool bottles. There's also Lands' End, which is really funny because we're I I still can't say it without thinking about it. I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin And so I hear Lands' End and I automatically think of this company, not a winery, but it makes a lot of sense of like why they would also call themselves Lands' End. Like it's literally like the southernmost tip of South Africa. So that one makes way more sense than the clothing company. But this winery, they make a lot of wines in this the most non interventionist manner, so basically just trying to let the wine speak for itself. The resulting wines have this austere quality to them that really reflects the landscape. They have these deep, rich flavors and a hint of minerality. And then, finally, another one that I saw was Black Oyster Catcher, another fun name, as a family run wine farm at the cool southernmost tip of Africa. They offer crisp yet elegant, fruity flavors all formed by that cool coastal wind, and the unique Ilim soil. Okay. Those were your 4 up and coming wine regions to keep an eye out for. So we talked about Armenia, New Jersey, England, and Inlim, South Africa. Now as I said earlier, I was like, this could easily be a part 2 because there are so many honorable mentions that I found while I was doing my research. So just to kinda, like, wet your appetite a little bit and let me know if you wanna learn about more of these regions. Some of the honorable mentions that I thought about including, but I just didn't, you know, didn't wanna make the episode too long. We have McLaren Vale in Australia, the countries of Georgia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Lebanon. You have Crete in Greece, Hokkaido in Japan, Texas Hill Country, Uruguay, Lazio, Italy, and the Okanagan Valley in Canada. So if you wanna learn about any of those regions or you want me to dive deeper into any of the regions that I mentioned today, let me know. I am happy to talk about whatever you want to listen to. So send me a message on Instagram at corkandfizz, or send me an email, haley@corkandfizz.com. So now you have to tell me, which of these up and coming regions are you most excited to try wine from next? I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Cork and Fizz Guide to Wine Podcast. Let me know, of course, like I said, what you wanna learn next. And if you loved this episode as much as I did, I would so appreciate it if you could take a quick second, rate it, and leave a review. The reviews can be made on Apple Podcast or on this, website called Podchaser. I signed up there in case you're not an Apple person. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. I release new episodes every Wednesday. In next week's episode, I'll be answering the age old question, does price matter? Is a $10 bottle really that different from a $50 bottle of wine? What about a $50 bottle versus a $500 bottle? And what goes into the cost of a wine anyway? We're gonna answer a lot of those questions or at least I'll I'll try my hand at it in next week's episode. Thanks again for listening, and as a thank you, I'd like to share my free shopping guide, 15 wines under $15. Simply head to my website, corkandfizz.com, scroll down to the bottom, and join my mailing list. And, of course, don't forget to grab your free class pass to come join my virtual tasting club, The Court Crew. If you thought this was fun exploring wines just by listening, imagine exploring wines where you get to taste wine with me. We explore new wines from regions all around the world every month. Cheers.