G'day! How about a nice SHIRAZ, Mate?!Apr 20 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line The wine industry in Australia is booming -- cheap land, new technology, and lots of foreign investment will make the Land Down Under a world contender.
That nobody has troubled themselves to write about wines from Australia is a bit of a surprise. I don't know much about Australian wine, but it is not difficult to see that the folks from the land down under are making significant strides in penetrating the U.S. wine market. Yesterday, I saw an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times by Lindemans (Southcorp Wines) with a boast that it is the producer of the #1 imported wine in America. If the claim is true, I wouldn't be surprised. I am beginning to see a lot of Lindeman product on store shelves here in Southern California. If the wine is popular, one reason for its success may be its price: usually a dollar cheaper than competing brands from California. Until recent years, Australia was famous for two export products: sheep and beer. (Okay: and Crocodile Dundee movies and Paul Hogan commercials.) Most of the world's wine product is produced in the northern hemisphere, but more and more is beginning to be produced on the otherside of the globe where the seasons are flipped. Coastal Australia, South America (Chile and Argentina) and South Africa are emerging players in the world wine market. In Australia, the greater part of the wine industry is concentrated in the South and South-East coastal area; e.g., the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, and Eden Valley. There is wine produced in Western Australia as well (Margaret River region). Most of inland Australia is a giant desert and more than 90% of Australia's population is concentrated in a few large coastal cities (e.g., Sydney, Perth, Melbourne). What's happening in Australia, in my opinion, is a simple matter of economics. Land is plentiful and inexpensive in Australia, so a considerable amount of investment money in being poured into the economy to develop product for foreign markets. Australian wine producers now have increased acreage under vine, they are utilizing modern viticultural technologies that allow them to bring forth product at a lower per-barrel cost, and they are cashed up and budgeting a generous portion of their marketing dollars on penetrating foreign markets. I don't know a whole lot about the Australian wine industry, but my interest in Australian wines is growing -- partly due to the fact that I am developing one of my web properties, winelogs.com, for its internet debut later this year and my goal is to try a dozen different wines from a dozen different wine growing regions in the world before putting the project online for public viewing and use. That's kind of an ambitious goal, but it will be more pleasure than work. There are four basic wine types produced in Australia: RED (mostly Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon), WHITE, FORTIFIED/DESSERT, and SPARKLING wine. I have no information on BLUSH or ROSE wine varieties, and frankly I have seen none of these wines in local markets. There has been an attempt to classify Australian wines in tiered quality classifications. Some examples of Australian wines and their quality: RED WINES: Good - Level One Wines Bests Thompson Family Shiraz - Great Western, Victoria Cullens Cabernet Merlot - Margaret River, Western Australia Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon - Coonawarra, South Australia Better - Level Two Wines Bass Phillip Pinot Noir Reserve - Gippsland, Victoria Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon - Margaret River, Western Australia Clarendon Hills Piggott Range Shiraz - Clarendon, South Australia Fox Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - McLaren Vale, South Australia Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon - South Australia Best - Level Three Wines E & E Blackpepper Shiraz - Barossa Valley, South Australia Glaetzer Shiraz - Barossa Valley, South Australia Greenock Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - Barossa Valley, South Australia Maxwell Lime Cave Cabernet Sauvignon- McLaren Vale, South Australia Noon Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Barossa Valley, South Australia Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz - Barossa Valley, South Australia Pikes Reserve Shiraz - Clare Valley, South Australia Ultra Premium - Level Four Wines Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Coonawarra, South Australia Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz - Hunter Valley, New South Wales Elderton Shiraz - Barossa Valley, South Australia Lindermans Coonawarra Pyrus Cabernet - Coonawarra, South Australia Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz - South Australia Sevenhill Shiraz - Clare South Australia Trevor Jones Wild Witch - Barossa Valley, South Australia -------------------- WHITE WINES: Good - Level One Wines Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay - Margaret River, Western Australia Leo Buring Leonay Riesling - Eden Valley, South Australia Petaluma Tiers Chardonnay - Picadilly, South Australia Pierro Chardonnay - Margaret River, Western Australia Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon - Hunter Valley, New South Wales Yalumba Virgilius Voignier - Barossa Valley, South Australia Better - Level Two Wines Bannockburn Chardonnay - Geelong, Victoria Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay - Yarra Valley, Victoria Henschke Louis Semillon - Eden Valley, South Australia Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay - South Australia Petaluma Chardonnay - South Australia Best - Level Three Wines Cape Mentelle Semillon Sauvignon Blanc - Margaret River, Western Australia Mountadam Chardonnay - Eden Valley, South Australia Piper Brook Reserve Chardonnay - Pipers Brook, Tasmania Wilson Gallery Series Riesling - Clare Valley, South Australia Ultra Premium - Level Four Wines Massoni Red Hill Chardonnay - Mornington Peninsula, Victoria Narkoojee Chardonnay - Gippsland, Victoria Pertaringa Semillon - McLaren Vale, South Australia Pikes Riesling - Clare Valley, South Australia Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling - Clare, South Australia -------------------- DESSERT WINES: Good - Level One Wines Angoves Fino Sherry - South Australia Baileys HJT Muscat - Glenrowan, Victoria Bullers Rutherglen Rare Tokay - Rutherglen, Victoria Campbells Isabella Rare Rutherglen Tokay - Rutherglen, Victoria Chambers Rosewood Rare Tokay - Rutherglen, Victoria Chambers Rosewood Special Muscat - Rutherglen, Victoria Lindemans Show Reserve Tawny Port Z186 - Rutherglen, Victoria Lindemans Show Reserve Tokay - Rutherglen, Victoria Lindemans Show Reserve Muscat - Rutherglen, Victoria Penfolds Grandfather Port - South Australia Better - Level Two Wines Hardys Show Port - South Australia Chateau Reynella Vintage Port - South Australia Seppelt Rutherglen Show Muscat - Rutherglen, Victoria Seppelt Rutherglen Show Tokay - Rutherglen, Victoria Best - Level Three Wines Bullers Black Label Muscat - Rutherglen, Victoria Bullers Black Label Tokay - Rutherglen, Victoria Bullers Black Label Tawny Port - Rutherglen, Victoria Stanton & Killen Rutherglen Premium Tawny Port - Rutherglen, Victoria Ultra Premium - Level Four Wines Galway Pipe Port - South Australia Seppelt Para Port - South Australia -------------------- SPARKLING WINES (Yep - Chandon is a big player in Australia): Good - Level One Wines Vintage Arras Pinot Noir Chardonnay - South Australia Vintage Chandon Blanc de Blanc - Yarra Valley, Victoria Vintage Chandon Brut - Yarra Valley, Victoria Vintage Chandon Late Disgorged - Yarra Valley, Victoria Vintage Cleveland Macedon Brut - Mount Macedon, Victoria Vintage E & E Sparkling Shiraz - Barossa Valley, South Australia Vintage Pipers Brook Pirie - Pipers Brook, Tasmania Vintage Seaview Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc - South Australia Seppelt Show Sparkling Shiraz - Great Western, Victoria Better - Level Two Wines N/V Blue Pyrenees Estate Reserve Brut - Avoca, Victoria N/V Chandon Brut - Yarra Valley, Victoria Vintage Yarrabank Brut Cuvee - Yarra Valley, Victoria Vintage Yellowglen Cuvee Victoria - Smythesdale, Victoria Vintage Yalumba 'D' Cuvee - South Australia Best - Level Three Wines Vintage Balnaves Sparkling Cabernet - Coonawarra, South Australia Vintage Cofield Sparkling Shiraz - Rutherglen, Victoria. N/V Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz - Great Western, Victoria Seppelt Vintage Fleur de Lys Pinot Chardonnay - South East Australia Vintage Seaview Pinot Noir Chardonnay - South Australia Ultra Premium - Level Four Wines N/V Morris Sparkling Shiraz Durif - Rutherglen, Victoria Vintage Padthaway Estate Pinot Noir Chardonnay - South Australia Vintage Red Hill Estate Pinot Noir Blanc de Noir - Mornington, Peninsula Victoria Vintage Rosevears Brut - Tasmania N/V Tatachilla Pinot Noir - McLaren Vale, South Australia N/V Tatachilla Sparkling Malbec - McLaren Vale, South Australia -------------------- That's... just a small sampling of the many new wines coming out of Australia. Recently, I had an opportunity to taste a 1999 Springwood Chardonnay from South Eastern Australia. Flavor Characteristics: green apple and oak -- a bit on the sour side and lacking the buttery, vanilla nose that is common with most Sonoma County, California, Chards. This one was not really a good wine for everyday consumption, but it was offered at a ridiculously low price of $3 at Trader Joe's Market. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to sample some better quality Aussie wines in the near future. Any recommendations from the Epinion's community are welcome. I am looking to try a dozen Aussie wines -- six white, six red -- with two from each class in the GOOD, BETTER, BEST category.  |
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