Chardonnay and sauvignon blanc are two of Hong Kong's favourite white wines. Entire supermarket shelves and wine lists are devoted to these varieties, but when you tire of them, it's time to look further afield. Australia is a country known for chardonnay and semillon, but lesser-known varieties are marsanne and viognier.
Marsanne originally comes from the northern Rhone and Hermitage in France. It is often blended with another white grape, roussanne. Marsanne wines from the Rhone tend to be full, rich and buttery with forward apricot flavours. Outside France, you will find the grape grown in the Valais region of Switzerland, where it's known as hermitage and often made into a sweet wine.
Marsanne can also be found in Australia. Tahbilk Winery, in Central Victoria, has the largest single holding of marsanne in the world. Tahbilk, meaning "place of many watering holes" by the Aboriginal people, is also the oldest family-owned winery in Australia. Its current steward is fourth generation family member Alister Purbrick. The original vineyards date back to 1860. Although these vines no longer exist, Tahbilk still produces wines from vines planted in 1923.
Tahbilk also produces viognier, another white variety from the northern Rhone, which was only first commercially grown in Australia in 1980. It produces wines which can be voluptuous and heady with seductive floral, apricot aromas. Wines tend to be full bodied and lower in acidity.
