Max Allen is very much my favourite writer of Australian wine books, though in the press I also much admire the work of Mike Bennie. Max has written at least a dozen wine books, but I came on board with 2010’s The Future Makers. Even at getting on for fifteen years old, this book still reads like a who’s who of Australian low impact artisan winemakers, the men (and a few women) who shaped the quality end of the bottle.

I reviewed Max’s last book back in July 2021. Intoxicating described itself as “Ten Drinks that Shaped Australia”. Definitely more than worth seeking out. The problem in doing that is that despite his writing being published (mostly) on a major imprint, that last book via Thames & Hudson, his books have proved very difficult, if occasionally impossible, to source here in the UK. I’ve got hold of mine directly from Australia, usually in my, or someone else’s, suitcase.

Max’s latest book is called Alternative Reality and was published last year (2023), but I had to wait for my son to come over to get my eagerly awaited copy. The book is ostensibly about an Aussie wine competition you might have heard of, the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show (AAVWS). Max has been involved in this show which takes place in the town of Mildura pretty much since its inception, and the organisers asked him to write a book charting its course to celebrate the competition’s 21^st birthday.

Such a subject might seem quite specialised, perhaps a little niche for a reader back here in the UK. In one respect it is. There is a lot about the individuals who have been the driving forces behind a competition which in terms of the Aussie competition circuit is about as alternative as the grape varieties submitted. I found reading about how this competition differs in almost every respect to the usual old grey men in white coats scenario which many readers will have seen, a time-honoured method of crowning Australia’s so-called finest, and preferably with no Sheilas in the building, I’m guessing.

However, there is another side to this book. When many of us began to drink Australian wine in the 1980s and for a long time after, that wine was likely made from three grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz (Syrah) and Chardonnay. Okay, there were pockets of other varieties. Hunter Valley had its Hunter Riesling (actually Semillon), and South Australia had its real Rieslings, plus some Grenache and Mataro (Mourvedre).

We probably tasted a bit of Marsanne and maybe an old Rutherglen Muscat, but the continent was very much dominated by those three grape varieties. We also have to thank the likes of James Halliday for Pinot Noir’s success across Australia, which came a little later. Burgundy it ain’t, but some very fine examples exist, albeit at Burgundian prices now.

Today all that has changed, and although the stalwarts still make up a shocking proportion of vines planted, there are dozens of other varieties which you can sample, mostly introduced by artisan producers all over the country. I have asserted elsewhere that we see too few Australian wines made by artisans imported into Europe these days (in fact we probably also see fewer of the bottled-at-home bulk wine imports you find in the supermarkets too). However, when we do find a small importer bringing in Australian wines, we do often find a sprinkling of these alternative varieties. These importers know there is an appetite, at least among some of us, to try them.

The story of Australian alternative varieties is one initially largely driven by Italian immigrants. If you think about it, big alcoholic wines made from those big three varieties are not the most food-friendly of bottles unless your diet consists solely that of burnt bbq fare. The Italians brought their own cuisine to Australia and it didn’t take long before those Italians who began to make wine wanted some good old home varieties to accompany it.

If you look at the awards section of the book, the list of autochthonous Italian grape varieties which appear certainly dominates. The list would include Nero d’Avola, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese for reds, and Vermentino, Arneis, Fiano and Moscato for whites, but the list goes on. In 2006 a “Lambrusco” varietal (Trentham Estate) won an award.

Other rarely seen varieties were also regular winners. Robinvale Kerner in 2007, Quealy Tocai Friulano in 2008. In the early days especially plenty of awards went to Tempranillos, Viognier (Yalumba did well) and Pinot Gris. I remember the first time I visited Mornington Peninsula. It was a trip where I tasted a lot of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, both varieties which can make some spectacularly good wines in the Peninsula’s Victorian maritime climate. But I made a point of going to a small producer called T’Gallant (my children thought I’d said “Tiggerland” so they were naturally disappointed, but the pizzas made up for it, I think). I wanted to visit because I’d heard great things about T’Gallant Pinot Gris.

Pinot Gris was another grape which featured a lot in the earlier AAVWS’s. T’Gallant themselves have later won awards for Teroldego and Nebbiolo, but there was a real buzz, almost a hype, around their Pinot Gris, or as it was originally named, Pinot Grigio. It won “best Italian variety” in 2005. Actually, Henschke picked up a couple of Pinot Gris awards in 2003, but I have never had so much as a sniff of this wine, which I think comes off their Innes vineyard. They certainly still make it, apparently.

Whether T’Gallant were pleased or not that the variety became synonymous with the winery, I don’t know. But T’Gallant and others were catalysts for Pinot Gris plantings, so much so that this grape was the first to be sort of uninvited from the competition. It was deemed no longer “alternative”.

Towards the back of the book there is a guide to the alternative varieties planted across Australia in 2023. More than sixty get a whole column, which includes information on how much of each variety is planted in Australia, where and for how long it has been planted, and some recommended producers to sample. Then, somewhere between eighty and ninety more varieties get four- or five-line entries with hints as to where to find some in the vineyard. Overall, we see the breadth and diversity of varieties which you can seek out, some way more easily than others for sure, but they are there amid the sea of CS/Sh/Ch.

The list of Awards is at the rear of the book. Eighteen pages detail every winner from the AAVWS by year. In the first year of the show (2001), just four awards were given: for Best Wine of Show, Best Red and White Wines, and Best Italian Variety. Redbank Winery won three of those with a Pinot Gris, the best Red Wine being McGuigan Wines “2000 Verdot”. By 2022, eighteen prizes were awarded, to wines made from varieties including Aglianico, Gruner Veltliner, Vermentino, Fiano, Friulano, Sauvignon Gris, Tempranillo, Gros Manseng, Gamay and Marsanne among others.

Some of the wineries are well known, like Tahbilk or Cherubino, but many I’ve never come across. Perhaps the 2021 roster had a few more well-known names, such as Kangarilla Road, Dal Zotto (always worth grabbing), and Pike’s. This well-known Riesling producer won two awards for their Luccio Albarino (you’ll notice my lack of accents – the Aussies tend mostly not to use them).

One variety which has consistently won awards throughout the history of the AAVWS is Nebbiolo. I highlight this variety because it’s one I always look out for. I think my first Aussie Nebbiolo was made by SC Pannell, who I think first won an award for their Nebbiolo in 2009. Before that Arrivo, and especially Pizzini, had regularly won Nebbiolo prizes at the competition.

There are only around 200 hectares of Nebbiolo estimated to be planted in Australia today, and you won’t find anything resembling Barolo. However, I don’t take much notice of those who say it’s not a variety that will grow outside of its Piemontese homeland. Indeed, I’ve read many critics who argue that outside of Piemonte, Australia is the best place to grow it, and that continent’s diversity of terroirs does suggest that such critics may be right.

It can be found today in the Yarra and King Valleys, Beechworth, Adelaide Hills, the Pyrenees and Heathcote (I’m always a sucker for Jasper Hill’s Nebbiolo). I can think of at least twenty producers making wines from those two-hundred hectares. Versions I know best include Giaconda (some aged in amphora), Jasper Hill, Luke Lambert, Mac Forbes, Timo Mayer and Ravensworth, the latter whose Hilltops Nebbiolo 2021 I was rather enamoured with at the recent Graft Wines Tasting in Edinburgh (see article of 18 October 2024).

But back to Max Allen’s book. It’s a fascinating read for any passionate lover of artisan wine, especially the Australian wines which we should be seeing a lot more of. If you occasionally visit Australia’s vineyards and wineries, this book will be a valuable guide to seeking out wines outside the norm. Perhaps the more generally interested reader might find Intoxicating (2020) and The Future Makers (2010) more their thing, but the wine lover who likes a deep dive into (Australian) wine culture will certainly enjoy this.

I have noticed that Max Allen has been writing for Jancis Robinson’s web site since 2013, and it seems rather odd that his books are hard to find here. This is especially true as his “Red and White” won an André Simon Memorial Prize and “The Future Makers” was named Best International Book at the Louis Roederer Awards in London. I would suggest that he’s a wine writer well worth seeking out.

Alternative Reality by Max Allen is published by Melbourne Books (2023). My hardback cost AUS$50.