The ABC Club

The ABC Club has been around for a while now. Membership has possibly peaked, but the club grew at a phenomenal pace through the late 1990's. The Club is open to all. There is no subscription, and the rules are extremely simple: if you drink wine, make it:

Anything But Chardonnay / Anything But Cabernet.

It's true that in the mid '90's the world of wine was awash with Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Their traditional homes were in France's Burgundy and Bordeaux region respectively. But these ubiquitous grape vines crossed the globe and were planted in their millions from Chile to China, from Bolivia to the Baltic. The "Chardy" phenomenon took the world by storm, especially the fruit-bomb style we have come to love from Australian, Chile and California wines. Here, super-ripe, tropical fruit flavours were buttressed by a whack of vanilla and butterscotch-flavoured oak, to produce wonderfully rich, powerful and sweetly-fruited wines. These wines offered a genuine flavour sensation when compared to the many thin and acidic excuses for wine that Europe regularly palmed-off on the poor UK public.

The makers of New World Cabernet Sauvignon performed a similar miracle: instead of mean, dry and dustily astringent cheap Bordeaux, they conjured wines from the same raw materials that were juicy, rich and generous; filled with jammy fruit that was easy to drink and brought an instant smile to the face of the jaded wine-lover.

But there was a problem in the making too. All of these wines - from Chile to China, from Bolivia to the Baltic - looked, smelled and tasted the same. The problem was the formulaic approach to how they were made: plant the latest Chardonnay vine clones; harvest super-ripe grapes; dose with laboratory-bred yeasts and ferment in chilled stainless steel to keep it all fresh. A period of maturing in oak barrels (or with a bag or two of oak chips), and voila: the Chardonnay formula was guaranteed to work. Even the Old World got in on the act. Suddenly vast swathes of southern France, Italy and Spain ripped out traditional grape varieties and tore down old wineries. They grabbed a share of the 'Chardy' market too, using the identical formula to produce identical wines.

We had entered the brave new world of technological wines that were inexpensive, reliable and truly tasty. We reached vinous Nirvana….but even in Nirvana, storm clouds were massing overhead. Did we really need so many identikit Chardonnays and Cabernets? Where did we go for a bit of variety? What was being lost in the rush to re-plant in traditional areas? Were we throwing the baby out with the bath-water?

The ABC Club was born, a movement that celebrates diversity and is constantly seeking something new, something fresh from their wine. And the wine world has responded. Though the big two 'C's still dominate, we are seeing more and more variety in terms of vines being planted, and the wines hitting our shelves. Australian and Californian wine makers are now just as likely to plant Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Gewürztraminer or Viognier as Chardonnay or Cabernet.

Though personally I reckon that a really well made Chardonnay or Cabernet can still hit the heights of wine experience, this month's recommendations join in the ABC celebration, with not a C********y or C******t in sight. Enjoy, and Vive la Difference!

See Tom's recommended ABC alternatives.

Tom Cannavan is author of The Good Web Guide to Wine and Publisher of www.wine-pages.com one of the world's most popular wine sites.