Italian is the new Black.

You heard it here first. Put the glass of Barossa Shiraz down and try a glass of what all the cool kids are drinking.

If you've been to a wine bar or restaurant in the last 18 months you'll notice they're all serving wines you haven't heard of. Italian varietals are the drink du jour, but they're not some new-fangled invention.. the Italians have been drinking Vermentino with their antipasto and Mataro with their ragu alla Bolognese for hundreds of years.

Ducks in a Row is a venture from former Hardys and Treasury Wine Estate winemaker Glenn James, so if you're looking for a safe way to try something new and impress all your friends with your hipster wine, look no further.

• Mixed 6-pack of red and white wine which includes:
  Mataro: Get a group of Australian wine writers together – if you're certifiably insane that is- and ask them to nominate the next variety to make it big, chances are you'll hear a lot of them nominate mataro. If they're still capable of speech that is. Mataro has long been a forgotten hero in Australia, providing darkly spicy complexity to the robust reds of the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. A new breed of stand alone mataro wines is making waves in wine-geek land and few have the wild and dangerous appeal of this thrillingly spicy and earthy wine from the masterful Glenn James.
   
  Fiano It sounds more like a Dean Martin song than a grape variety – Fee Ah No…whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, - but those in the know ( whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa) love it for it's freshness, liveliness and downright drinkability. Originally from Campania in southern Italy, it's starting to do some exciting things here and few have created more of a buzz for Fiano than the masterful Glenn James. One of Australia's most capable winemakers, James has taken everything he learned in high-powered, big company winemaking positions and applied it to his exciting Ducks in a Row project. See for yourself.
   
  Vermentino It's human nature to be on the hunt for the next big thing, to be constantly wanting to fall into the embrace of some-one… or something… new. Wine makers, and those that enjoy the benefits of the labours, are keen to see what new sensations may be coming there way and when it comes to wine that means varieties that while well known in Europe are relatively new here. Glen James at Ducks in a Row is a man with a good grasp of emerging varieties and his skillfully made, citrus-scented, mineral-edged take on the great Italian white grape vermentino proves it.
   
  
• Praise for Ducks in a Row's mataro has been widespread.. James Halliday has called their Erect Habit mataro "the spice of life", backed up by Huon Hooke's ‘a ripper of a mataro’… plenty of fans for the Vermentino too, winning the Best of the Best 2010 Gourmet Traveller Wine award and 93 Points from Winefront
• Perfect gift for your wine connoisseur colleague or relative if you're not the adventurous type
• Try something new, most Sauv Blanc and Shiraz are the Justin Biebers of the wine world!! Do your palate a favour.