The Case for Petite Arvine
As we continue to embrace winter at Marion, it’s only natural to serve mountain wines - those partial to higher altitudes, with a penchant for winter sun. One such variety is Petite Arvine, which thrives in the Alpine conditions of Italy’s Valle d’Aosta and Valais in Switzerland. We’re excited to welcome a rare, limited-release Petite Arvine to our wine list from Mark Walpole’s Fighting Gully Road.
Sometimes referred to as the ‘grape of the glaciers’, Petite Arvine is rarely seen outside of Valais and Valle d’Aosta. The idea to grow this grape came to Mark on a trip to Italy in 2004, when visiting vineyard manager and friend, Federico Curtaz. Having grown up in the Aosta Valley, Curtaz took Mark on a day trip to the region. The wines produced here are lively and possess fresh acidity, elegantly poised for ageing and bursting with substance. The similarities in altitude, climate and weather patterns between the Aosta Valley and Beechworth became evident to Mark. With shared elevations of approximately 600 - 700 metres and common ground with apple-growing land owners, it seemed the terrains between the two were not as different as one might instinctively expect.
No hero’s journey is complete without trials and tribulations. After many years of false starts, in 2019 Mark finally saw a single vine cutting through the arduous quarantine process. After careful propagation, the precious vines were planted in the Chalmers nursery vineyard in Merbein, allowing further cuttings to be bud-grafted onto rootstock in Fighting Gully Road’s Europa Vineyard in Beechworth.
The Petite Arvine that we’re pouring at Marion is the very first example of the variety ever produced in Australia. Only four dozen bottles were made from fruit grown on those very first mother vines - and Mark has given us access to half of the entire production. Fermented in stainless steel to preserve freshness, the Fighting Gully Road Petit Arvine displays notes of ripe fruit - Meyer lemon, cumquat and nashi pear - with a pithy texture and the variety’s typically crisp, refreshing acidity. Mark is excited by the varietal typicity on show in a youthful wine from youthful vines - a particularly Italianite Alpine floral aroma that he recognises from wines he tasted in its home regions.
It is such a privilege to have access to this limited release from Fighting Gully Road for winter at Marion. The first of its kind, a perfect example of mountain varieties grown in our very own backyard.
