Whether you’re a chameleonic Chardonnay or a complex Cabernet, sometimes it’s good to tempt your tastebuds with something new. Friends constantly tell me that finding their next palate-pleaser isn’t always a walk-in-the-park, so if you’re reluctant to risk your time and money on a vinous impostor, allow me!

I’ve set myself the (dreadful!) task of tasting some delicious, popular grape varieties alongside their lesser-known counterparts. As standard-bearers of style and quality from classical wine regions, I’ll be using Berrys’ Own Selection wines as the benchmarks, and will select alternative varietals around the same price point.

Part 1 – Chardonnay

This week I gathered a group of Chardonnay aficionados to compare Berrys’ White Burgundy with a Viognier and a Chenin Blanc alongside some monkfish and prawn skewers, and a fresh crab, walnut and pear salad.

Although the Big Daddy of white wine grapes expresses itself in different forms, Burgundy is Chardonnay’s spiritual home and I thought Berrys’ White Burgundy from J-Luc Terrier & Christian Collovray would be a wonderful example of a very affordable ‘old world’ Chardonnay which is well-balanced and elegant - the pure fruit balanced by just a whiff of oak.

Lured by the pure, unadulterated simplicity of the prawn and monkfish skewers combined with the effortless elegance of this wine, we found the combination perhaps a little too tempting - and had to make up another batch of skewers to try alongside the alternatives!

Switching sips:

Viognier

We found Domaine Michel Ogier’s 2005 La Rosine from Viognier’s spiritual home, The Rhône, was every bit as elegant and well-balanced as the Chardonnay.

Bursting with ripe fruit and sumptuous peach notes on the nose and palate, its more distinctive flavour was at home with the monkfish and quickly cosied up with the crab too!

Chenin Blanc

2006 Pecan Stream Chenin Blanc from the Waterford Estate in South Africa is stylistically very different to its Chenin Blanc counterparts from the Loire Valley. Boasting apricot and guava with impressive depth and richness, it combines the exuberance of the New World with the specific personality of the grape variety.

We found it to be a wine which boasts the same depth and rich texture of Chardonnay, with additional stunning pear aromas and guava notes, all of which were echoed beautifully by the pear salad.

Tried any exciting new wines recently? Don’t forget to let us know.