WINE ON

VERDELHOS FROM AUSTRALIA

Woodstock 2003, $130

A century ago, the small, hard and sweet verdelho grape was renowned for being the raw material for Madeira, a sweet Portuguese wine famed as the wine

of romance. The Spanish used the grape as the basis for the sharp, tart whites of Castillo. But recently this hardy grape has flourished in Australia, where it is

used to make wines of dazzling diversity. As with

many vines from the Old World, when planted deep