New Tricks From an Old Wine Industry

GEYSERVILLE, Calif. —  Geyser Peak Winery has renewed itself almost overnight, thanks in large part to a man representing a wine industry 50 years older than California’s.

The string of Geyser Peak successes now hitting store shelves--including a splendid new Chardonnay, a blended Chardonnay and some excellent red wines--could be attributed to mere progress. Instead it’s due to modern wine-making techniques from Australia.

When the Trione family bought Geyser Peak from Schlitz Brewing in 1982, it was a winery with a wide line of moderately priced wines. Wine maker Armand Bussone (who had come from Almaden) rarely departed from traditional large-winery production methods, and the wines excited little attention.

In 1989 Henry Trione sold half of his winery to the huge Penfolds wine firm of Australia (ironically, a division of South Australia Brewing Co.) and Bussone retired. In his place Penfolds sent its top red wine maker, Daryl Groom.

Australia has had a wine industry since about 1820, and it has developed a style that is slightly different from California’s. Using techniques that aren’t widely used here, it accents softness and flavor.

For five years, Groom was the wine maker for Penfolds’ world-famed Grange Hermitage, a marvelously deep, complex red wine that ages as well as any in the world. This incredible wine differs from some red wines in that it may be consumed young because it rarely is very tannic.

“We don’t baby-sit our red wine,” said Groom. “We knock it around, beat it up, aerate it when it’s young. That softens those tannins.”

Groom’s first vintage with Geyser Peak was ‘89, so the earlier red wines were not made entirely by him; he merely treated wine already in barrel when he arrived. But a tasting of barrel lots of his 1989 and 1990 wines showed what a talent he is. The winery’s 1987 Reserve Cabernet ($13.75) has a jam-and-currant aroma with nuances of eucalyptus and roasted nuts, most complex.

The Geyser Peak line also includes excellent lighter white wines, including the delightful 1989 Soft Gewurztraminer, 1990 Soft Riesling and 1990 Chenin Blanc ($5.50 each). Groom’s first real star, however, is the new 1989 Estate Reserve Chardonnay ($13), a broad, big-shouldered wine with buttery complexity from aging in new French oak. It has more richness than I have seen in a white wine from Geyser Peak and is a good value at the price.

Australian wine makers like to blend Semillon and Chardonnay into a wine more complex than the grapes of either, and Groom’s 1990 Geyser Peak Semchard ($8) is a superb example of this blend. The wine has traces of figs and cloves with broad tropical fruit flavors.

Geyser Peak is a winery to watch.

So, for that matter, are the wines of a half dozen Australian wineries that are being imported here.

The widest-selling brand is Rosemount, which imports 12 wines that represent excellent value. The wine with the most recognition in the United States is a stylish Chardonnay designated Show Reserve ($16), a massive wine with loads of tropical fruit and oak--showy enough to justify its name. A wine that matches better with food, however, is Rosemount’s more delicate 1990 Chardonnay Hunter Valley ($9), with apple-pear aromas and a fairly lush taste.

The Chardonnays from Mildara are also good value. The 1989 Koala Ridge ($9) has buttery and tropical fruit scents and is lighter on the palate; the 1989 Mark Swann ($8) has a broader, creamier aroma and good acidity, and the 1990 Roo’s Leap ($10) has more richness and complexity than the others.

The 1990 Semillon-Chardonnay of Rosemount ($6.50) is a less aromatic wine that has stronger acidity, a nice match with delicate foods. It’s a good value.

The growing interest in Australia as a fine wine-growing region prompted the large French firm Pernod-Ricard to buy two Australian wineries, Wyndham Estate and Orlando. Both are marketing wines in the United States. The 1988 Cabernet from Orlando, called Jacob’s Creek ($7.50), is an excellent value, with good herbal-cherry notes and an attractive finish.

The Wyndham Estate line (13 wines) and a companion line under the Johnstone name all represent good values. The hit in terms of price-quality relationship was a striking 1985 Shiraz Bin 555 ($8.50) that is most complex, with faint herbal notes adding interest to rich, peppery, toasty elements.

That wine is a bit leaner than Rosemount’s wonderful 1989 Shiraz ($8), which is softer and more approachable.

Shiraz (related to the Syrah variety of the Rhone Valley) makes a plump, full-bodied red wine, but most Australian wine makers keep it from being too tannic, and the result is usually an excellent value.

Rosemount is also bringing in a fresh, fruity and quaffable wine called 1990 Shiraz-Cabernet. The wine was made nouveau style, so the fresh, ripe cherry scent is similar to Beaujolais; it is excellent when chilled. At $6.50 (often discounted) it’s one of the best buys around--and certainly a better value than $9 or $10 for mediocre Beaujolais.