Escapism by the bottle

Old Man Winter is laughing at Michigan right now. The mitten’s wine drinkers can handle this wintry season with grace and a thirst for escapism — if only for a bottle or two — to the other side of this lumpy sphere called Earth.

There are some places in the world harvesting tasty grapes rights now, and they will do so through early May. While we are at (hopefully) the tail end of a Michigan winter, Southern Hemisphere grapes are seeing a combination of heat grapes can’t go unnoticed. The 2012 syrah is a serious contender and sun. Believe it.

A great place to start is Argentina. Its already the world’s fifth-largest wine producer, a spot they’ve earned with consistent, quality wine. Malbec is the important grape here. Its origin lies in Southwest France, where it’s known as cot. Achaval-Ferrer winery is a great example of quality production at many price points. Some bottles will run you north of $100, but its everyday malbec is a failsafe perennial pick. It’s not too thick, dense, over-the-top jammy or tannic. Jet black in the glass, the 2013 vintage is blackberry/blueberry without being overripe. It is complex, having a topsoil earthiness without stinking like compost. The good news is this should only cost about $22 at most stores.

South Africa is another recent force in quality wines. Names like Eben Sadie, Hamilton Russell and Mullineux will be on the scene for years, it seems, with modern winemaking and fruit/earth balance as touchstones. Perhaps the superstar of South Africa is Johan Reyneke. Reyneke has been making estate-grown wines for a while now, surfing and cooking up braai (a South African barbeque) in his free time. But his care of wine grapes cant go unnoticed.

The 2012 syrah is a serious contender for value of the year for a full-bodied red wine. This vintage features lush, compote-like flavors of cassis, strawberry and raspberry grounded in totally rocksolid, graphite-like minerality. It’s hearty without feeling too heavy, juicy and still pretty. Reyneke Wines is in Stellenbosch, a 45-minute drive east of Cape Town, a region that has been making wine for four centuries. It is just now becoming known worldwide for syrah, chardonnay and merlot/cabernet sauvignon blends. Expect to spend about $25 or so for this syrah, but if you’re feeling curious, look at other labels from Stellenbosch. There is value across the board on wines from this region.

This brings us to what is probably the least sexy wine country of the moment: Australia. Thank underperforming critter wines — the ones with wacky animals on the label like Yellow Tail and Little Penguin — for that. Australia’s climate is hot and the wine industry is dominated by corporations, which leads to simplistic, way-too-jammy wines. Fear not, though. One can find age-worthy, acid-driven white wine from down under. Case in point: 2013 Brokenwood semillon. This is from Hunter Valley, a hot and humid area that paradoxically produces beautifully restrained wine that tastes refreshing alongside sea bass or tuna. This particular semillon is mouthwatering at about $20, and has flavors that move between lemon peel and tangerine.

A few thousand kilometers eastward is the land that gave us both the lush landscapes of “Lord of the Rings” and the stark soundscapes of Lorde. New Zealand has become a sauvignon blancproduction leader worldwide, which is impressive considering how young the wine industry is for the Kiwis. The 2014 version of “The Loop,” a sauvignon blanc from Barker’s Marque, is a nice wine to consider here.

Sauvignon blanc tends to be known for its obvious citrus flavors and aromas. “The Loop” is an everyday-priced wine that shows more depth than the $15 tag suggests, with pretty grapefruit and lemon curd notes and a crisp, dry finish. While some New Zealand sauvignon blancs veer heavily into vegetal notes, this one lands safely in the “fun and fruity” category.

All of these wines are readily available through distributors to your favorite independent bottle shop, even if they can’t transport all of that wonderful Southern Hemisphere summer sunshine with the vino.

Justin King is the sommelier at the Stand Gastro Bistro in Birmingham, a Williamston resident and a certified sommelier. He would love talk and hear about your favorite wines. Email him at justingking@gmail.com