On a land mass as big as nearly the Continental United Sates, Australia\u2019s geography hardly seems suitable for viticulture.\u00a0 The northern rim is a tropical climate covered in rainforest, woodland, grassland and mangrove swamp.\u00a0 The massive interior is desert and semi-arid land.\u00a0 Only the southeast and southwest corners of the continent offer temperate climate that is hospitable to vine.\u00a0 And it is here that we find wine produced in quantities sufficient to make Australia the world\u2019s fourth largest exporter of wine. <\/p>\n
In his book The Story of Wine<\/em>, Hugh Johnson writes, \u201cAustralia is the France of the Southern Hemisphere; there seems to be no limit its potential (enormously reinforced by modern technology) for producing ideally balanced, delicate wine very much in the French style (though with original touches of its own). But potential has never been enough. Fine wine has only been made at moments in history when the market has asked for it.\u201d<\/p>\n The history of wine is Australia traces back to the establishment of Port Jackson as a convict settlement in 1788.\u00a0 On the site of the present day of Intercontinental Hotel on Macquarie St. in Sydney, Captain Arthur Phillip planted Australia\u2019s first vines.<\/p>\n Early interest in local wine was merely a diversion from what warder and convict desired most: rum from India.\u00a0 The market demanded strong <\/em>wine\u2026 wine that had been fortified with spirits, and production in the early vineyards went almost entirely into making Ports and other high alcohol wines.\u00a0 Strong, lush and sweet\u2026 what would be referred to as sticky\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n It would be a few decades before vintner\u2019s would spread their wings further to Southeastern Australia and to the valleys and areas that would be home to some of the finest wineries of the world: Barossa Valley<\/strong>, Eden Valley<\/strong>, Clare Valley<\/strong>, McLaren Vale<\/strong>, Adelaide Hills<\/strong>, Limestone Coast<\/strong>, Coonawarra<\/strong>, Victoria<\/strong> and Yarra Valley<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Aussie preoccupation with Ports, Muscats and Tokays fed into what the British market desired. It didn\u2019t mean that dry reds and whites weren\u2019t being produced. But it would take the efforts of Max Schubert, the winemaker at Penfold\u2019s<\/strong>, who would \u201crewrite the book\u201d about Australian wine after his visit to the Rhone Valley in 1951. Taken by the brilliance of Hermitage, Cote Rotie and the Syrah based wines of the Northern Rhone, Schubert returned to Penfold\u2019s convinced that these wines could be emulated in Barossa Valley.<\/p>\n He began to tinker <\/em>with the grape (known as Shiraz<\/em> in Australia) and produced an \u201cexperimental\u201d wine he called Grange<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/em>A huge wine, made in a rich fruit abundant style, more than any other wine, Penfold\u2019s Grange caught the attention of the wine world.\u00a0 Grange became a defining wine of what could be produced in Australia.<\/p>\n About Grange Robert Parker has written, \u201c{Grange is} one of the flagship wines of the wine world and the reference point for most Australian winemakers who wanted to produce world class red wine.\u201d<\/p>\n Barossa became to Australia what Napa is California\u2026 a wine rich province, home to world class wines.\u00a0 The Estates of Elderton<\/strong>, Glaetzer<\/strong>, Turkey Flat<\/strong>, Amon-Ra<\/strong>, Two<\/strong> Hands<\/strong> and Veritas<\/strong> have all earned international praise for their fabulous reds.<\/p>\n East of Barossa, the higher altitudes of Eden<\/strong> <\/strong>Valley<\/strong> is known for producing some of Australia\u2019s best Rieslings.<\/p>\n Still further to the south and nestled in the Fleurieu Peninsula are the wine estates of McLaren Vale<\/strong>.\u00a0 You would be hard pressed to find a more ideal climate for the cultivation of wine grapes.\u00a0 The coastal zone is bounded to the east by Mount Lofty Ranges and to the immediate west by a temperate sea.\u00a0 There is a long growing season, natural air flow to prevent frost and the ocean supplies a cooling influence.\u00a0 Located in the heart of McLaren Vale, the wines of D\u2019Arenberg<\/strong> are some of the most desired in the world.\u00a0 No private wine cellar would be complete without D\u2019Arenberg\u2019s exceptional Copper Mine Road Cabernet<\/strong> Sauvignon<\/strong> or Dead Arm Shiraz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n If the vineyards of Australia\u2019s southeast are known for the production of Rhone varietals\u2026 Shiraz (Syrah), Grenache, Mourvedre and Viognier used for making opulent styled wines; on the other side of the Continent, we find some of the finest wines made from Bordeaux varietals\u2026 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc for reds, and Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon for whites.\u00a0 South of Perth, the Margaret River<\/strong> estates produce wines that possess considerable finesse and elegance that bring to mind to best of wines from the Medoc, St. Emilion and Graves. And Leeuwin Estate<\/strong> consistently makes Chardonnay\u2019s on par with the best from the Cote de Beaune.<\/p>\n If there is a common thread that runs thru the Australian wines that dominate the market, it is drinkability.\u00a0 <\/em>It is nearly impossible to pick up a glass of Shiraz, \u201cGSM\u201d Blend (Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre), Cabernet, Old Vine Grenache, and not want a second glass.\u00a0 Regardless of price, the wines are good to drink\u2026 and if you can spend a couple of bucks, the cellar worthy reds are stunning.<\/p>\n The whites run the range from lush Chardonnays, soft Rieslings, lively Sauvignon Blancs and mineral driven Vigoniers.<\/p>\n Yes, the fortified wines that began this excursion are still being produced\u2026 but perhaps Australia\u2019s greatest gift to the Wine World is Sparkling Shiraz<\/strong>.\u00a0 This red sparkling wine is totally unique and nearly indescribable.\u00a0 It is the one wine that travelers to \u201cDown Under\u201d come back looking for.\u00a0 A bubbly red that is rich in fruit flavour that leads you to believe that it is sweet (but it isn\u2019t). Across Australia, Sparkling Shiraz is served for Sunday brunch and at backyard barbeques\u2026 and Americans are learning that it is a great wine for our Thanksgiving table or for Christmas Day prime rib of beef.<\/p>\n Australian wine?\u00a0 All you have to do is lift a glass and say, g\u2019day<\/em>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On a land mass as big as nearly the Continental United Sates, Australia\u2019s geography hardly seems suitable for viticulture.\u00a0 The northern rim is a tropical climate covered in rainforest, woodland, grassland and mangrove swamp.\u00a0 The massive interior is desert and … Continue reading