May 27 2010
Wine – A Guide to Australian Wine
Wine
Australia’s efforts on wine go as far back as the mid-19th century, but the manufacture languished until nigh 30 years ago. Since then, the country has grownup to be a world producer with a variety of super regarded reds and whites .
With climate regions equal to California, it’s not surprising that much of the product would mirror the popular varieties of that state. But the Australian’s — true to their iconoclastic heritage — add several distinctive varieties of their own.
Shiraz (or Syrah) is one of the most well-known recent products, but the lesser-known Durif would be a welcome guest at any table. Hailing from the Rutherglen, a lowly town in north-eastern Victoria, it joins the area’s unusual sparkling red to form a pair of unique offerings. Rutherglen also produces fortified wines, such as port, muscat, and Tokay that often make their way to other countries.
Victoria also boasts another world-class set of producers in the Pyrenees (not to be disconnected with the mountains along the French-Spanish border).
below plant since the early 1960s, the region now holds over 30 vineyards with some six hundred hectares (1458 acres) growing twenty-five different varieties . Shiraz, Merlot, and Pinot Noir are among the reds, with whites represented by Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and others.
Once the home for the most part to apple orchards, the Mornington Peninsula has turned to winemaking in recent decades. With over 60 wineries, plenty open for public tastings, the area boasts a repected Pinot Noir.
McLaren Vale, apprenticed on the south by the Sellicks Hill Range and to the west by Gulf Saint Vincent. The area enjoys a Mediterranean climate with a dry summer south of the equator. Rarely suffering frost or drought, the long hot days and short cool nights are perfect for growing.
Some vines of the region are still producing more than a 100 years after first being implanted. The soil and climate combine with modern methods to produce a wine with superior aging qualities. Widely acknowledged as one of the premier producers of Shiraz, harvest occurs from March to early April. With its noted smaller berries, vintners here produce a complex, intense wine.
But Shiraz isn’t the only excellent product of the region. Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache both are well reputed. The Grenache, similar to that grown in Spain, grows well in the distinctive soils.
Among the oldest regions, the Clare Valley is also one of the most scenic. Settled by the English and Irish in the 1840s, much of the architecture still reflects those early days.
The climate is continental, with long hot summer days and cool nights. Some valleys nestle altitudes as high as five hundred metres (1640ft) with red soil over graveled rock.
Like much of Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz dominate , but it also produces a Riesling which has garnered international merit .
After struggling back from phylloxera infestations, in the years since the seventies the country has grown to become the world’s largest exporter of wine to the UK. It has earned its report as one of the world’s finest producers.
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