At the start of a new year many of us look forward to the longer days, shorter nights and most of all the fresh start that January affords us. Gone are the revelries of the last few weeks of December, which were most likely filled with warming Clarets, robust ports and celebratory Champagnes.

After all of this Christmas decadence, it is refreshing to have fresher, distinctive and diverse flavours to experiment with.  The Southern Hemisphere has just seen its summer, and is now in harvest time, so we’re anticipating a host of new exciting wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America which we’ll shortly be able to introduce to you. I wanted to kick-start this theme of exploration and try a few wines which I might otherwise overlook. Here are a few that I particularly enjoyed…

So in anticipation of the release of new vintages, I would like to bring your attention to a relatively unusual South African wine, Clouds Sauvignon Blanc which is incredibly fresh and herbaceous. Our recently departed Buying Director, Alun Griffiths MW, introduced this South African wine to the range and it is a remarkably pure example of a Sauvignon Blanc, from the Cape, almost New Zealand-like in its pungency. A far cry from the Burgundies and Bordeaux that you may have enjoyed over Christmas.

If you don’t want to look so far afield, there are also more unusual and expressive wines to be found in Europe. From Spain comes an elegant Godello to help break the trend of weightier wines at Christmas. Very fashionable at the moment, this white wine from Rafael Palacios gained many new fans with its stylish, textured character at a recent tasting. This wine is a tropical burst of fruitiness with a lick of honey at the back of the palate. With a mineral grip, hazelnut, guava, pear-skin and hints of mango, it is certainly a wine to look to springtime!

If you’re looking for a break from the heavier Clarets that fit so well with red meats, look to Italy.  David Berry Green, our Italian buyer, recommends 2008 Langhe Nebbiolo from Luigi Oddero. A fantastic all-rounder wine for fish or fowl, this wine is really growing in popularity. From a producer that’s on the up, David says “I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to introduce this wine.”

At Berrys we’re always keen to try something new and unusual on our continuous journey round the world of wine, and what better time to make new discoveries than at the beginning of a New Year? We’d love to hear from you if you’ve tried something unusual recently, or if you’ve stepped out of your usual drinking habits to try something new.

All the wines mentioned above are included within some of the Wine Club case selections this month. Meanwhile, don’t forget to look out for the forthcoming release of the new vintages from the Southern Hemisphere.

To find out what dishes might best accompany these wines, or for other examples of such wines in Wine Club cases, contact me at wineclub@bbr.com or call me on 0800 280 2440.