Although wine production occurs basically all around the globe — from Mexico to Zimbabwe — there are only a handful of countries that most of us associate with wine. If you are casually into drinking wine, you can maybe rattle off 10 of those countries. If you are really into wine, you can probably name two dozen without taking a breath. But after that, if you’re not a sommelier, it may become a guessing game based on geography. There’s a good chance that a country near a renowned wine country also produces wine, and with that in mind, Croatia would be a better bet than Panama.
It’s the same in the United States. There are wineries in all 50 states, but most of us think only of the three states that make up our West Coast, when in reality more wine is produced in New York than in Oregon. Virginia might be on the radar of some wine buffs, but after that, it drops off dramatically, depending on where you’re from. People who live in or around Michigan know about wine from the Wolverine State, but how many other people know about it across the country?
Presenting and sharing wine from unlikely places is fun, especially when the wine is good. Simply saying “This wine is from Tahiti” before pouring it won’t do much if the wine is terrible. But if the bottle is anywhere from decent to great, it will do more for your social occasion than any humdrum wine from California or France ever could. When good wine comes with a story, or even just a sprinkle of novelty (i.e., it was grown and produced in a place that is surprising), it instantly becomes more interesting.
As we look to lesser-celebrated winemaking regions, let’s remember that wine doesn’t grow on trees. It takes a lot of planning and effort to turn those tiny berries into liquid beauty. So, please, appreciate all the places that do it well — not just the Napas and Rhones of the world.
Below are six wines to try from unlikely places, in alphabetical order according to where they’re from.
BRAZIL
A sleeper in the South American wine world, Brazil conjures beach culture and futbol as much as anything else. Still, you can find some decent wines from there, and one of their most reliable is made of the international grape variety merlot.
2014 Lidio Carraro Agnus Merlot Made of 100 percent merlot, this affordable wine offers plum, blueberry, ripe red fruits, chocolate and smoke — great for burgers or pizza, with a bossa nova soundtrack playing softly in the background. $12
GEORGIA
Although I have had good wine from the state above Florida, here I’m referring to the country — by Russia and the Black Sea — with a winemaking history that is said to reach back 5,000 years or more.
2015 Teliani Valley Tsolikouri This dry white wine made from the tsolikouri grape variety in the Caucasus Mountain region of Lechkhumi (there will not be a quiz) starts with peach and lime zest, and moves into green apple and bright citrus with a clean, crisp finish. $13
IDAHO
There’s more to Idaho than potatoes, of course. Idaho’s modern wine industry, founded in 1976, continues to grow and improve.
2013 Colter’s Creek Koos-Koos-Kia Red This delightful blend of the Bordeaux grape varieties cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot is full of ripe plum, leather, baking spices and vanilla. $22
ISRAEL
Israel’s modern wine industry is relatively young and still searching for its identity in the larger world. A handful of larger wineries are leading the way, and some of them are turning out good wines in places not far from where winemaking may have begun.
2012 Golan Heights Winery Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon Made from grapes grown in the Golan Heights region of northern Israel, this wine has notes of blackberry, herbs, anise and mint that lead to juicy red fruits, anise, cocoa and grippy tannins. $32
TEXAS
I can think of about 10 things I would associate Texas with before I got to wine, even though it is one of the country’s most prolific wine-producing states. Fact is, Texas was turning out wine before California even dreamed of it.
2014 William Chris Vineyards Mourvedre This one morphs through raspberry, pomegranate and herbs to rich dark cherry, all of it delivered in waves of silk and spice. Delicious. $40
URUGUAY
Being next to Argentina would seem like an automatic good thing, wine-wise, until you look at a map and see how far Argentina’s wine country is from Uruguay. Nonetheless, Uruguay produces some good wines, especially those made of its adopted national grape, tannat.
2014 Bodega Garzon Tannat Dark fruits along with layers of cedar, pine, smoke, pepper and juicy acidity characterize this wine, made of 100 percent tannat, the country’s and this winery’s signature grape variety. $20
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