If you don’t know about fiano yet, it won’t be long

When Brendan and Laura Carter started their Unico Zelo wine label in the early 2010s, they knew they wanted to focus on grape varieties that were sustainable from a viticultural and winemaking point of view, to make wines that would appeal to a new generation of wine drinkers like them.

They chose fiano as their signature white grape. Fiano, originally from Campania in southern Italy, was, back then, a relatively new arrival in Australian vineyards: the first vintage of the variety here was at Coriole in McLaren Vale, in 2004. From the beginning, though, it was clearly a grape with promise: drought-tolerant, aromatic, full-flavoured and versatile in the winery. Since then, the grape’s popularity with Australian growers, makers and drinkers has steadily grown. And in the last few years, that growth has accelerated.