Unusual Wines

This site celebrates diversity, looking at wines that break the mould in some way. It is of limited usefulness perhaps, but is diverting and lots of fun. The large, bold font used is clear, but makes scanning larger text areas slightly difficult. The writing style is unpretentious and factual, often concerned with the people and stories behind a wine rather than the wine itself.



Clearly, author Peter May has a passion for the quirky and unusual in wine, and there are detailed facts on some pretty obscure examples; so obscure I defy most people to argue with his authority on these subjects — I certainly won't!



There is a handful of sections to the site, and each of them features a colourful navigation panel with links to all sections. It is situated at the bottom right of every page.


SPECIAL FEATURES


Unusual Label Scores of fascinating and often amusing labels from around the world, most submitted by visitors. Look out for ‘Marilyn Merlot', or ‘Fat Bastard Chardonnay', or even ‘Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush!' May often includes the story behind these quirky labels, making this section a unique and very entertaining place on the web.


Unusual Varietals No Chardonnays or Cabernets in evidence here as May introduces us to the delights of the Xinomavro from Greece or the Kékfrankos from Hungary. May gives some idea of what they taste like, as well as some serious viticultural background information.


Unusual Wines Some wines that are unusual in other ways. Here you will find some thought-provoking and surprising entries, such as the ‘Fair Valley' Chenin Blanc from South Africa, a winery run as a political experiment with mutual ownership and profit-sharing amongst the workers. How about ‘The Cataclysm,' a wine made in California from grapes harvested on 17 October 1989: the day of the San Francisco earthquake...?



OTHER FEATURES

Unusual Places is a small selection of wines made in trying conditions; like Château Musar from the war-ravaged Bekaa Valley (see p.107),or ‘Africus Rex' made in a small garden in cold, rainy Ontario, Canada. There is a small selection of links to other wine appreciation sites.

Up against the hundreds of wine sites out there in cyber-space, Unusual Wine's ace in the pack is its unique subject matter allied to a terrific sense of fun. Don't come here for an all-round wine education or extensive library of tasting notes, but just to marvel at some of the most strange and outrageous products the wine world has to offer.