AUSTRALIA Flashcards
What are the growing regions tempered by?
Proximity to the South or Indian ocean or the Murray River system
Adelaide Hills and Eden Valley-Cooled by altitude
What can cause problems for grape growing?
Drought
Bush fires
Principal grape variety of either color?
Shiraz
Shiraz characteristics?
Hot regions-Hunter Valley and warm regions-Barossa Valley- Full bodied, intense fruit, earthy, spicy notes, and leather with age
Cooler regions- Geelong and Heathcote- Leaner and more peppery
What does Shiraz add to blends wit Cab Sauv?
Softness and body, similar to Merlot in Bordeaux
Cab Sauv characteristics?
Darker, firmer tannins, higher acid then Shiraz, ripe black fruit characters, underpinned toasty oak notes
Coonawarra and Margaret River
Merlot characteristics?
Found in blended wines alongside Cab Sauv to add body and fleshy plummy fruit
Pinot Noir characteristics?
Best come from cool or moderate sites such as Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania
Med body, med alcohol, med-high acid, cherry/strawberry flavor
Grenache, Petit Verdot and Mataro (Mourvedre) characteristics?
Do well in hot regions as they are late ripening varieties
Most planted white wine grape?
Chardonnay
Chardonnay characteristics?
Often a blend of fruit from different regions, produced unoaked with peachy flavours or with oak chips or staves to add hints of toast/vanilla
High quality-Cool moderate regions (Adelaide Hills, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley) and warm regions (Margaret River)- Balanced with fresh, vibrant fruit, subtle flavours of careful use of lees, Malolactic conversion, oak maturation
Sauv B characteristics?
Adelaide Hills is the benchmark for the variety
Concentrated passionfruit flavours with refreshing high acid
Semillon characteristics?
Hunter Valley is the classic region- Harvest early with low sugar levels and high acid. Contact with oxygen is kept to a minimum and inert vessels are used for fermentation and storage
Wines are light in alcohol, almost neutral in flavor when first bottled, but develop flavours of honey/toast with btl age
Best can age 20+ years
In the west-Much more herbaceous style
Riesling characteristics?
-Pronounced citrus fruit aromas and flavors in youth that develop rapidly into toast, honey, petrol notes as wines age
-Wines are unoaked with high levels of acid, usually dry or slightly off dry, but some sweet wines are also made
-Eden and Clare Valley-South Australia
-Tasmania and Great Southern region of Western Australia -Wines less citrusy and more floral
What super zone covers all the Gl’s in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland?
What does it allowing?
South Eastern Australia Zone
Allowing the blending of grapes or wines from across most of Australia’s wine regions
Wines part of the South Eastern Australia Zone are able to source fruit from what 3 fertile, irrigated vineyards?
-Riverland in South Australia
-Murray-Darling in Victoria
-Riverina in New South Wales
These regions produce high yields of healthy grapes, but lack flavour concentration from those of high quality areas
What does Riverina specialize in?
Botrytized wines made from Semillon
This region has autumn morning mists and fog which develop noble rot
Where is the majority of Australia’s wine produced?
South Australia
Vineyards are concentrated in the SE of the state
Heartland of fine wine production?
Barossa Valley in South Australia
Climate of Barossa Valley?
Grapes grown?
Warm, dry
Old bush vines produce outstanding Shiraz, Cab Sauv, Grenache
Classic Barossa Valley Shiraz characteristics?
Full bodied, soft tannins, ripe black fruit, American oak
As it ages, softens and develops leather and spice
Most notable white in Barossa Valley?
Semillon- Increasingly made in a fresh unoaked style
Wines labelled Barossa can come from where?
Where can they source fruit from?
The Barossa zone
Fruit sourced from Barossa Valley and Eden Valley
Eden Valley climate?
What grapes is Eden Valley in South Australia known for?
Cool, moderate, varies with altitude
In cooler vineyards-Outstanding Riesling- Intense lime, grapefruit aromas, steely character. Best can age, showing toasty and marmalade characteristics
Shiraz, Chard, Cab Sauv
Clare Valley climate?
Warm climate, tempered by cool afternoon breezes
Nights are cold
Many vineyards planted at an altitude of 300 m to 400 m, some as high as 570 m
Grapes in Clare Valley?
Riesling is the specialty- Intense citrus, lime aromas, high acid
With age-Honey and toast
Shiraz- Fragrant, powerful, structured
Cab Sauv
Adelaide Hills climate?
Moderate
All vineyards planted above 400 M in altitude
Rainfall mainly in winter
Soils have limited water holding capacity- Irrigation often used during growing season
Adelaide Hills grapes?
Fresh Sauv B
Elegant Chard- Natural high acid, pronounced citrus and peach aromas
PN- For still reds
and for blending with Chard for sparkling
Mclaren Vale Climate?
Afternoon breezes from nearby ocean temper the warm climate
Mclaren Vale grapes?
Largely produces reds from Shiraz, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Grenache
Intense flavours with dark fruit aromas and soft ripe tannins
Some old vine Shiraz and Grenache used to create wines with depth and complexity
Coonawarra climate?
Famous soil?
-Under the influence from the cold currents of the Antarctic, the maritime climate is moderate
-Cloud cover moderates summer temps
Red terra rossa soil over a limestone subsoil
Coonawarra grapes?
Cab Sauv dominates- Concentrated, structures with cassis, menthol, eucalyptus aromas, best age well
Shiraz, Merlot, Chard
Where are some of the coolest vineyard locations on the Australian mainland?
Victoria
Victoria climate?
Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay- Benefit from ocean breezes, giving conditions cool enough to grow high quality PN and Chard and grapes for sparkling
What provides a range of altitudes and aspects in Victoria?
High altitude site grapes?
Regions on lower slopes?
The Great Dividing Range
-High altitude sites (Macedon Ranges and Upper Goulburn)- Elegant PN and Chard and aromatic Riesling and Sauv B
-Lower slopes- Later ripening black varieties, Shiraz and Cab Sauv- Often freshed and lighter than those from Hotter regions
Yarra Valley climate?
Cool to moderate and maritime
Varied region with wide range of altitude and aspects
Specialty of Yarra Valley?
Specialty is Pinot Noir- Rich in fruit(Strawberry, plum, dark cherry, tannins are ripe/soft, careful oak handling adds complexity
Excellent quality Sparkling
Some high quality table wines
Chard, Shiraz, Cab Sauv as well- Not s much body as wines from warmer regions
