The inside story of Australia’s first-ever Nerello Mascalese

October 7, 2020

I’m on holidays this week for the first time in a year (and it feels very very good), but I wanted to take a brief 5 minutes to point you towards a print article out now that I really enjoyed researching and writing.

It’s the twenty-year long story of how Australia’s first-ever Nerello Mascalese vines finally landed in Australia.

This yarn tracks the journey that the Chalmers family have undertaken to make this all happen, covering the history of alternative varieties in Australia and the long ride the Nerello Mascalese cuttings have taken from the slopes of Etna to a secure quarantine facility in Melbourne.

You can read the whole story in the October/November edition of Gourmet Traveller Wine (read online here – free trial available).

(Pictured: Girolamo Russo vineyard in Etna, source of these miracle cuttings).


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3 Comments


Bob
October 7, 2020 at 8:07 PM
Reply

Great article. Etna is a special place and I’d go back in a flash if it were possible at the moment.


Rory Shannon
October 9, 2020 at 9:13 AM
Reply

Well done, interesting read.


Alexandra Bullpitt
October 17, 2020 at 3:51 AM
Reply

This is so exciting. Looking forward to seeing, or rather tasting, the results!


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  • About me – Andrew Graham


    At 18, I started working in a small suburban bottleshop, largely to buy cheap beer. It was my first year of university, slogging through physics and chemistry, so a liquor shop seemed like fun. Needless to say, I discovered wine, and my life evolved with a unique dual focus - wine and environment.

    Twenty years later and I spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer.

    I now judge at wine shows around the world, sit on the Australian Wine List of the Year awards panel and was once a Wine Journalism Young Gun (but baby that was years ago).

    Currently, I write features for a variety of publications including National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS, plus I'm a former Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert.

    In 2019 and 2020 I was voted in the Top 30 Best Wine Critics in The World, and in my spare time, I'm a sucker for punishment and run trail ultra marathons, much to the delight of my long-suffering family. Read more about me here or get in touch to book your next wine event with me here

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