Romanian Pinot Noir
There is absolutely nothing underrated about Pinot Noir, it's one of the most popular and priciest grapes in the world, particularly if you're buying Pinot Noir from Burgundy in France. However, some regions that grow pinot noir grapes and produce wines from it fly under the radar a little more and Romania is one of these. The conditions there are excellent for pinot noir and the resulting wines are soft, bright and full of flavours of red fruits and violets. An added benefit – as with most underrated wines – is that they are priced much more reasonably than a French Pinot Noir. Another similar – and much more underrated – grape to look out for is Nero Mascalese from Sicily, which produces wines with a profile quite close to a very good French Pinot Noir.
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Finger Lakes Riesling
When we think of American wine, it's the west coast that gets all the attention but there's one region on the east coast, five hours north of New York, that is slowly coming up and up: Finger Lakes. The region is named after five skinny lakes below Lake Ontario and the cool air from the water is ideal for growing such grapes as riesling. There are a few wineries to look out for; Hermann J. Wiemer is one of the biggest, Forge Cellars has made a splash this side of the pond and Nathan Kendall is making a name for himself. Rieslings from the lakes have notes of candied citrus, apricot, chamomile and a wonderful minerality alongside zippy acidity.
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Iranian wine
The area of land planted with vines in Iran is as large as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand combined – quite the statistic when you couple it with the fact that Iran has a strict prohibition and wine-making has been banned there for 40 years. However, there are 5,000 years of winemaking tradition preceding that and there are some people finding ways to keep it going. One such brand to keep an eye out for is Drood, who ship the grapes out of Iran to Sweden where they then turn them into beautiful bright ruby reds that have a wonderful freshness alongside an abundance of tannins. Founder and winemaker Shahram Soltani grew up in Iran and his passion for Persian winemaking led him to find a way to keep the tradition alive, luckily for us.
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Sicilian whites
Sicily has been having a moment ever since The White Lotus set its second season there but its wines – specifically white – have been flying somewhat under the radar. Grapes to look out for are Grillo, Catarratto and Carricante (often also known as Etna Bianco), all of which benefit from the incredible soil on the island. Sicilian white wines have a brilliant acidity but also a good level of fruit, meaning they can stand up to the salty, often fried food of the country. Grillo is the most well-known and produces bright wines that are perfect as an aperitif or with light foods, while Catarratto (and its clone Lucido – worth looking out for) and Carricante pair well with seafood and have flavours of dried flowers and honey alongside lemon, peach and apple.
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Slovakian wine
The territory of Slovakia is ideal for growing lots of grape varieties found elsewhere in Europe – such as Blaufränkisch found next door in Austria and Furmint, grown in Hungary – as well as some native grapes such as Alibernet and Dunaj. It's relatively young as a wine-producing country, having only really got going since gaining independence in 1993. Slovakia is a cool climate, meaning wines from there are fresh and elegant.
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And one for a comeback…
This Italian wine is not underrated really, having had something of a surge in the 1970s and 1980s (it was the highest selling imported wine in the US at the time). However, an influx of poor quality wines flooded the market and a sharp decline in Lambrusco's popularity followed as a result. All trends come back around and Lambrusco is about to have its time again, thanks to a renewed interest by winemakers coupled with a modern trend for drinking chilled reds. Mark our words, Lambrusco is going to be big again and we'll all be sipping cold, fizzy, sweet red wine with glee.
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