From the French countryside to the mountains of Chile, there is a variety of unique and unusual wines from all over the world that are worth trying.
You can’t necessarily judge a good wine by its uniqueness, but it can sometimes make the difference between two great wines. Nevertheless, lovers of good wines are always looking for rare gems to satisfy their curiosity and also to invest in bottles of exceptional wines.
Discover 5 outstanding wines
Orange wine
Orange wine is like the flip side of rosé. While rosé comes from treating red wine grapes like white wine and quickly stripping them of their skins, orange wine is made from white wine grapes, often pinot gris, that are aged with their skins on like a red.
The resulting wine has an orange or salmon color and a distinctive taste. For many, this taste is an acquired taste, but it is worth the exposure. Orange wine is produced all over the world, but the wine regions of Georgia and Armenia have a long tradition of orange wine production, while the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy has seen a more recent boom.
Koshu wine
Although probably originating in the Caucasus, Koshu grapes are a variety that has been grown in Japan for 1,000 years, but were a table grape rather than a wine grape for most of that time. In 1877, Japanese wineries made the first Koshu wine. Until recently, it was a sweet wine of little note, but in the last decade, producers have experimented with producing subtle dry whites that pair well with Japanese cuisine. They are extremely rare in the West, so if you visit Tokyo, it’s worth a day trip to Yamanashi Prefecture (just two hours west of the city) to discover the vineyards.
Tokai
Derived from Tokaj, the Hungarian wine region from which it originated, Tokai is a wine with a striking yellow color and unusual flavor that results from “noble rot” – a fungus that dries out grapes on the vine. This can ruin the grapes in wet conditions, but in dry conditions it imparts an intense sweetness and awesome flavor often compared to ginger or honey (but a little stranger than either). These wines also pack a bit of a punch, so keep the portions small.
Retsina
The pine resin that gives retsina its distinctive flavor was used in ancient times to seal the clay amphorae the Greeks used to age and preserve wine. The advent of oak barrels made it redundant as a sealant, but it has remained popular as a way to flavor white and rosé wines in Greece to this day. Look for retsina in Greek taverns throughout the country. By the way, you can invest in this type of wine with the help of a consultant. It will be easier and safer than jumping in head first and not getting a good return on your investment.
Georgian wine
Georgia (the republic, not the state) may seem like an unlikely wine region, but it’s actually the original wine region, with a history of winemaking that goes back at least 8,000 years. Moreover, many Georgian wines are still produced in clay kvevris (imagine ancient Greek amphorae), a custom that archaeology tells us goes back at least six millennia. Georgian wines use grapes rarely seen in the rest of Europe, so between that and the unusual wine-making techniques, you’re sure to discover tastes you’ve never had before.
Wine: a good financial investment
Besides the pure pleasure of the wine connoisseur, another point is inevitably posed. Can one really earn money, or even get rich, by buying one or several bottles of prestigious wine? “The purchase price, the origin of the wine, the quality of the conservation, the decrease in stocks, these are the key elements that characterize the increase in value of a wine” swear the specialists of the sector.
Wine is recognized as a premium alternative investment just like art, classic cars, fine jewelry and watches. Investing in wine is a long-term investment that provides individuals with the opportunity to diversify their assets while enjoying the pleasure of outstanding wines.