Get ready for a summer fiano festa

 

Are you ready for a fiano frenzy?

Fiano is a white Italian wine grape that is grown primarily in the Campania region of southern Italy and on the island of Sicily.

It is a variety that is enjoying a serious moment in Australia - particularly during summer - and has been championed by Corrina Wright at Oliver's Taranga in McLaren Vale.

In the 2025 vintage, the fiano crush in Australia was worth over $3.7 million. And predictions are that the fiano boom will continue.

"Here at Oliver’s Taranga, we’ve been growing fiano since 2004, following our friends at Chalmers who brought this Italian varietal into Australia," Wright says,

"It’s now one of our most sought-after wines."

Wright is affectionately known as the Queen of Fiano for her love of the variety.

"Of course, as with all ‘emerging’ grape varieties, we have some work to do in introducing the broader wine consumer to fiano and helping them understand the versatility of the style," Wright says.

"So, this year we’re launching Fiano Festa – a summer-long celebration of this exceptionally delicious variety that’s perfect for the Australian spring and summer.

"Fiano has moved from fringe to fashionable,” the sixth-generation vigneron adds. “It’s perfectly suited to our climate, delicious, and versatile - both for drinkers and in the vineyard.” 

Fiano (the one above is particularly delicious) saw an 86% growth in tonnes crushed (2025 vs 2024) and there are now over 70 Australian wineries making fiano.

Look out for Fiano Fridays events around Australia so you can try the refreshing, food-friendly and textural variety.

The inaugural Fiano Day will be Friday, October 17.

More info here: https://www.oliverstaranga.com/what-is-fiano/

Briar Ridge takes an alternative route

It is a sign of the changing times when you receive new release white wine samples from a winery in the Hunter Valley and they include limited-release fiano and albariño. 

Briar Ridge's new releases do, of course, include a couple of semillons - the region's benchmark white variety - and a chardonnay, but alternative varieties that are heat-resistant are very much on the radar.

Fiano is a white Italian grape variety that is grown primarily in Campania in southern Italy, and on the island of Sicily. Albariño is widely grown in north-west Portugal and in Galicia in Spain. The pair  are both from the 2023 vintage ($35 each).

Located in the lovely hills of Mount View, the Briar Ridge vineyard is producing some outstanding wines under the leadership of winemaker Alex Beckett. 

I enjoyed both alternative varietals immensely, with the albariño a very elegant, fruit-forward expression with some textural elements, stone fruit and immediate drinkability, while the fiano is an altogether richer beast with nutty and honeyed characters to the fore. 

"The move to include these varieties as part of our whites release is one of Briar Ridge's initiatives from our bigger plan to work in a more holistic farming fashion, with grapes that require less input," said Beckett. 

The new releases also include the 2022 Single Vineyard 'Briar Hill' Chardonnay and the 2023 Single Vineyard 'Dairy Hill' Semillon, and 2023 Single Vineyard 'Black Cluster' Semillon (all $50). 

"For me, white wine production is about precision," Beckett says. 

"When you work with the utmost attention to detail, the end goal can be clearly aligned with your intent as a winemaker. This means wines that are delicate while still full of tension and purity.”

Of the two semillons, the Dairy Hill is a more expressive wine, concentrated and more earthy, while the Black Cluster is more on the citrus side of the spectrum with precision and purity to the fore and some flinty minerality. 

The Briar Hill Chardonnay is one for the medium term and is certainly a wine best enjoyed with food. 

It was matured for 15 months with 100% new French oak fermentation, and is powerful yet not at all overpowering. Think stone fruit, nutty complexity and the possibility of pairing with roast pork and crackling.

See https://www.briarridge.com.au/