A Harpers hello from down under!

Harpers' features editor Rebecca Gibb is in Mildura, judging at the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show this week. In between tasting more than 600 wines, Rebecca will be filling us in on her trip in a series of blogs. Here's blog number one...

Forget Chardonnay and Cabernet, this show is all about Albarino, Barbera and other Mediterranean varieties. The show started life in 1999 as the Sangiovese Awards with 66 entries; nine years later I have to taste through more than 600 wines from both Australia and New Zealand.

On the eve of the show, I had dinner with the founders of the show, Bruce Chalmers and Stefano di Pieri - and we supped a bottle of Catena Malbec from Argentina's Mendoza region. A strange choice you might think considering I've just landed in Australia - it's not great advertising but all became clear. Chalmers has just bought land in Heathcote, home to the infamous Jasper Hill Shiraz and, as well as planting Italian varieties, he will be planting Malbec.

There are only a handful of Malbec parcels in Oz, and I'll be tasting them over the next few days, but it is an overlooked grape variety here. Strange really, when you consider the Aussies are barbecue maestros. Yes, they've got ballsy Shiraz but tucking into a kangaroo steak with my glass of Catena, it seemed like the perfect marriage. Admittedly Argentina has become synonymous with the Malbec grape thanks to a great marketing effort but should the Aussies decide to make a concerted effort with the grape, their wine marketing machine is second to none.

It will likely remain on the fringes while the big five - Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc- continue to dominate. But it's a thought I'll leave you with

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