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Could the Spanish grape mencia be the Next Big Thing in red wine in Australia? McLaren Vale winemaker Alan Varney certainly thinks so.
âIâm really excited by the variety,â says Varney. âIt ticks a lot of boxes. I think itâs got a great future.â
For the past couple of years, Varney has made only a few dozen bottles of mencia each vintage, using grapes he buys from nearby Oliverâs Taranga vineyard, the first grower to plant the variety in Australia back in 2011. But heâs so certain mencia has great potential that he recently organised a get-together of half-a-dozen winemakers now producing a red wine from it in McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills.