James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion

James Halliday is the undisputed leader in Australian wine authors. The release of his annual Companion is an eagerly awaited event among Australian wine afficionados auround the world. The 2006 edition continues the high standards we all expect. No other wine guide aims to be as comprehensive as the Companion, but the limiting factor is the size limit of about 600 pages. Nevertheless this book contains tasting notes of nearly 4500 of the best wines produced in Australia in the past year. Of course winetasting relies on subjective judgement at some point. Halliday's palate and taste admits a much broader range of styles than many writers who may be better known outside Australia. He is definitely not fixated on the narrow range of big fruity shirazes that command so much attention, and unrealisticly high prices, in some areas of the world. The Companion is organised by winery of which over 2000 are listed. This number includes 172 new entries. My interest is in new and emerging wine grape varieties so I did a quick scan of the new entries as a straw poll of which new varieties we will be seeing more of in the future. Barbera (4 new wineries are using this variety), Carina (1), Chambourcin (5), Chenin blanc (4), Cinsaut (1), Colombard (1), Corvina (1), Dolcetto (1), Durif (2), Gamay (1), Gewurztraminer (7), Grenache (21), Lagrein (2), Malbec (7), Marsanne (3), Meunier (3), Mourvedre (9), Muller Thurgau (1), Muscadelle (1), Petit verdot (6), Pinot Grigio (16), Rondinella (1), Roussanne (1), Sangiovese (9), Taminga (2), Tarrango (1), Tempranillo (4), Verdelho (14), Vermentino (2), Viognier (16), Zinfandel (1). We live in diverse times. If you own only one book about Australian wine this should be it. Apart from the comprehensive listings there are 50 pages reviewing the latest trends and statistics, wineries to watch, vintage guides and food recommendations. Darby Higgs is the founder of vinodiversity.com and the author of "Emerging Varietal Wines of Australia"