Chalmers Pecorino 2020

Wait, isn’t pecorino a delicious sheep’s milk cheese?

Well yes, but it’s also a grape variety; a particularly charming one from central and southern Italy. In fact, it was named for the shepherds who ate the grapes while tending their flocks. 

This time it is grown in Heathcote by Chalmers – a remarkable family ensuring the future of viticulture in Australia by planting varieties more resilient in the face of climate change. 

This wine reminds me of a homemade lemonade stand by the Northern Rivers beach of my childhood – aromas of freshly squeezed lemons and the occasional spritz of zesty oil into the sea-salted air. There’s ripe yellow peaches and crunchy just-ripe rockmelon with a hint of beeswax adding savoury complexity. 

Don’t let those notes fool you though – there’s no sweetness here. There’s also more body than you might expect and a bracing acidity that reminds me of kiwi fruit.

Drink it with its cheesy namesake showcased in a bowl of Cacio e Pepe pasta (preferably scooped straight from a wheel of Pecorino cheese).

Nicole Bilson

Wine Critic at Winepilot

Nicole loves wine. So much so that she gave up a successful career in Pharmacy, perfected her spitting technique, and moved from sunny Queensland to the wine-drenched laneways of Melbourne. Stints in hospitality, wineries, retail, sales and marketing filled the next few years while Nicole built her knowledge and searched for the right path. She completed the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Diploma in 2016 and became a certified WSET Educator the following year. She now juggles a number of roles including teaching people about wine, curating wines lists for restaurants and bars, judging in Australian wine shows and, of course, writing. In 2016 she won the Negociants Working With Wine writing award and has since contributed to Gourmet Traveller WINE, Halliday Wine Companion Magazine and Nourish Magazine.

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