6. Rutherglen Muscat Flashcards
Australia makes a variety of fortified wine styles, including some inspired by ______ and ____. However, it is arguably one of Australia’s own styles of fortified wines, Rutherglen Muscat, that has become the most well known from a global standpoint.
Australia makes a variety of fortified wine styles, including some inspired by Sherry and Port. However, it is arguably one of Australia’s own styles of fortified wines, Rutherglen Muscat, that has become the most well known from a global standpoint.
Vines were first planted in Rutherglen, _________ in the 1850s.
Vines were first planted in Rutherglen, Victoria in the 1850s.
Describe the production of wine in Rutherglen in the 1800s to the 21st century.
Vines were first planted in Rutherglen, Victoria in the 1850s. When gold was discovered in 1858, the population boomed and investment in the region increased. By 1890, Rutherglen produced around 25 per cent of Australia’s wine, much of which was exported to the UK. Sources are unclear on what styles of wine Rutherglen was producing at that time, though very old stocks of wines suggest some sweet, fortified wines were being made.
At the end of the 19th century, parts of Victoria, including Rutherglen, were decimated by phylloxera and by the time. Rutherglen recovered by replanting on resistant rootstocks, but the new century brought Federation and an end to cross-border tariffs. Rutherglen found it difficult to compete with the more productive regions in South Australia and did not fully restore its previous area of vineyards. It nevertheless continued producing full-bodied red wines and also its unique fortified wines as a point of difference. Today, Rutherglen is considered as the capital of fortified wines in Australia.
True or false?
There are many new producers of wine in Rutherglen, as many of the old producers died out.
False.
Many of the wineries that produce Rutherglen Muscat are family run and have been making this wine for several generations. Due to this, ‘house styles’ have developed and been maintained based on fruit selection, winemaking, maturation and blending choices. For example, Pfeiffer Wines is known for producing a lighter, fresher style whereas All Saints and Morris are known for their more intense and luscious styles of wine.
