Australia Flashcards
1
Q
When did vines arrive on the continent?
A
with the First Fleet of British prisoners in 1788
2
Q
Which 2 brands emerged during the early period in the 1850s and now are owned by Treasury Wine Estates?
A
Penfolds and Lindemans
3
Q
What division started in the late 1800s and still exists today, fueled by lowered demand and restrictive state trade barriers?
A
some producers export to survive, whereas others remain small and localized
4
Q
What befell Australia in the latter half of the 19th century, further harming the industry?
A
Economic recession and phylloxera
5
Q
Officials took strict and immediate measures to combat the spread of phylloxera, confining it to where?
A
Victoria and a portion of New South Wales
6
Q
Spared from phylloxera, what else rose South Australia to prominence?
A
the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, the federation brought a relaxation of the interstate trade barriers
7
Q
South Australia annually produces how much of the nations wine?
A
about 50%, and most of Australia’s largest wine groups are headquartered there
8
Q
From the post-phylloxera period until the 1960s, approximately 80% of Australia’s production consisted of what?
A
sweet, fortified wines
9
Q
At the heart of Australian commercial winemaking are what tools?
A
technical proficiency, mechanical harvesting, irrigation, and blending
10
Q
What is common at the mass-market level?
A
Cultured yeasts, acidification, and micro-oxygenation, chaptalization is not allowed
11
Q
Why have Australian vinters planted on flat sites rather than hillsides?
A
They lack a large population (source of cheap labor), relying on mechanical harvesting
12
Q
What is the CSIRO?
A
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization
13
Q
What did CSIRO develop?
A
the counterintuitive technique of minimal (zero) pruning, which actually restricts vigor, for Australia’s low cost vineyards
14
Q
What is essential in the extremely dry climate of Australia?
A
Irrigation
15
Q
Prior to the use of irrigation, which regions were unsuitable for viticulture?
A
Riverland in South Australia and Riverina in New South Wales, (together nearly 40% of Australia’s production)
16
Q
What do vinters have to tread carefully around when irrigating?
A
Australia’s high-saline soils, must become adept at moisture management
17
Q
When was Penfolds’ iconic “Grange” created?
A
Shiraz by Max Schubert in 1951 as “Grange Hermitage”
18
Q
Why is “Grange” a testament to the Aussie style?
A
Unlike most luxury wines, “Grange”, is generally blended from many vineyards across several regions
19
Q
What is Henschke’s high end Shiraz?
A
“Hill of Grace”
20
Q
What does Australia boast in vineyards?
A
Vines over 150 yrs old in some areas
21
Q
Yalumba’s cult Shiraz
A
“Octavius”
22
Q
Clarendon Hills’ cult wine
A
“Astralis”
23
Q
Torbreck’s cult Shiraz
A
“RunRig”
24
Q
What has brought up questions about the long-term sustainability of some of the country’s irrigated vineyards?
A
The country’s southeastern regions gripped by severe and continuing drought, affecting the 2003, 2006-2009 vintages
25
What marked one of the worst natural disasters in Australia’s history in 2009?
terrible brush fires in Yarra Valley and other areas in Victoria, a direct effect of the dry weather
26
What is Wine Australia?
a government authority established in 1981 as the Australia Wine and Brandy Corporation
27
What does Wine Australia maintain?
oversight over the wine industry, regulating its label language, defining geographical boundaries of wine regions, moderating exports and trade, and promoting the product at home and abroad.
28
What is the Label Integrity Program?
est. for 1990 vintage, wines labeled by variety, vintage, or region to contain a min 85% of each
29
If multiple varieties are to be listed on the label, the grapes must be listed in what?
order of proportion in the blend
30
Regions in Australia are defined by Wine Australia as what?
Geographical Indications (GIs)
31
Australia’s appellations are purely what?
geographic; no restrictions on grape varieties, yields, etc
32
Within each state, Australian appellations are subdivided into what?
zones, regions, and sub-regions
33
Both regions and sub-regions are defined by Wine Australia as what?
single tracts of land, comprising at least 5 independently owned vineyards of at least five hectares apiece, with a min output of 500 tons of wine grapes annually.
34
Regions are not necessarily contained within a single____ , nor are zones necessarily contained within a single ____
zone, state
35
In 1996, Wine Australia authorized the multistate zone of what?
South Eastern Australia, which encompasses all of Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, along with South Australia and Queensland.
36
What is site of the country’s first vineyards, planted in 1788?
New South Wales
37
What is The Great Dividing Range?
a complex of mountain ranges running along the north-south axis of eastern Australia, separates the wetter coastal areas from the more arid interior.
38
What is the heavily irrigated area west of the Great Dividing Range called?
Riverina region, also known as the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area
39
What is the heavily irrigated area west of the Great Dividing Range called?
Riverina region, also known as the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area
40
What producer of runaway success sources most of its fruit for its commerical brand from Riverina?
Casella, the [yellow tail] brand
41
What huge wine producer from Riverina produces "Noble One?"
De Bortoli creates this botrytised Semillon dessert wine.
42
What GIs occupies a gentle, flat river valley running eastward from the Brokenback Mountains to the coast?
the Hunter region (the lower half of the Hunter Valley zone)
43
Viticulture in the Lower Hunter Valley dates to when?
1830
44
During the 1855 Paris Exhibition, Napolean famously sipped what?
a sparkling Hunter Valley wine during the closing ceremonies
45
What is the climate of Hunter?
Subtropical, one of the warmest climates in Australia—
46
What conditions mitigate Hunters warm climate?
high amounts of humidity, rain, and wind
47
What wines shine in Hunter?
60% of output is white; Semillon, or “Hunter Riesling,” is the region’s greatest white grape.
48
What is an example of a top Hunter Valley Semillon?
Tyrrell’s “Vat 1”
49
Surprisingly for such a warm climate, Hunter Semillon rarely achieves more than _____ abv.
11-12%
50
What Portuguese white variety is popular in Hunter?
Verdelho, producing more aromatic, tropical-scented wines
51
What subregion of Hunter claims the oldest Verdelho plantings in the country?
Broke Fordwich, and offers dynamic Semillon wines sourced from sandy, alluvial soils
52
What are Hunter's most important red grapes?
Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon
53
In the inland Southern New South Wales zone, the Canberra District region is technically split between what?
the state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
54
What performs extremely well in the Canberra District region’s continental climate?
Shiraz
55
What Canberra District Shiraz has rapidly risen to the ranks of Australia’s finest?
Clonakilla’s , co-fermented with a small percentage of Viognier
56
To the southwest of Canberra lies what alpine, cool-climate GI?
Tumbarumba GI
57
Tumbarumba GI produces what?
sparkling wines and still Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the sun-drenched, basalt slopes of the Snowy Mountains.
58
What is the smallest and coolest state on the Australian mainland?
Victoria
59
Coastal Victoria is cooled by what?
sea breezes blowing up from Antarctica
60
In Victoria, the Port Phillip zone surrounding the city of Melbourne has what climate?
a cool maritime climate, experiencing winter average temperatures lower than Bordeaux or Burgundy.
61
A genuine range of depth, distinction and style is evident in the Pinot Noir wines of what places in Victoria?
Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, the warmer Geelong region within Port Phillip, and the coastal Gippsland zone to the east
62
What GI is Victoria’s oldest wine region?
The Yarra Valley GI
63
How has the Yarra Valley GI changed?
once the exclusive preserve of smaller boutique wineries, (like Mount Mary), but investment and larger producers have arrived with the region’s modern successes.
64
Moët & Chandon started the Australian Domaine Chandon when and where?
Yarra Valley, 1987
65
In addition to Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley produces elegant styles of what?
CabSauv, Chard, and Shiraz (often co-fermented with Viognier, and generally called "Syrah")
66
What 2 distinct soil types divide Yarra Valley?
grey-brown sandy loam and red basalt-derived soils
67
Where does The Mornington Peninsula lie?
On a sliver of land to the south of Melbourne that encloses the Port Phillip Bay
68
What is unique about The Mornington Peninsula's climate?
cooler, windier region, one of Australia’s most profoundly maritime climates
69
What thrives in The Mornington Peninsula's climate?
Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay thrive; much of the GI is too cool for late-ripening grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon.
70
The inland zones of North East Victoria, North West Victoria, and Central Victoria experience what?
a more continental climate
71
What typifies the inland zones of Victoria?
a large diurnal temperature shift
72
What is the hottest inland zone in Victoria?
The North West Victoria zone, irrigation is essential
73
What are the 2 GIs of The North West Victoria Zone and who are they shared with?
Murray Darling and Swan Hill, shared with state of New South Wales
74
North West Victoria Zone's vineyards are dominated by what?
Chardonnay and Shiraz
75
What is the comparative climate of Central Victoria?
only slightly cooler than North West.
76
What thrives in Central Victoria?
Red grapes, particularly Shiraz, thrive in the Bendigo, Heathcote, and Goulburn Valley GIs
77
In Central Victoria, what compelling producer in the Nagambie Lakes subregion of Goulburn Valley, protected its vineyards from Phylloxera?
Tahbilk, today produces flagship Shiraz from vines planted in 1860.
78
What estate boasts the oldest Marsanne vines in Australia, and possibly the world?
Tahbilk
79
In the North East Victoria zone, what areas are famous for sweet fortified wines?
Rutherglen and Glenrowan
80
In Rutherglen and Glenrowan, a fortified “Topaque” (formerly "Tokay") style is produced from what?
Muscadelle grapes
81
What Rutherglen wines are incredibly rich, sweet, and raisinated, with the more mature wines displaying marked rancio character?
Rutherglen’s aged, fortified Brown Muscat (Muscat à Petits Grains Rouge)
82
What is The Muscat of Rutherglen Network?
a producers’ syndicate established in 1995, has developed a voluntary four-tier classification system for the wines based on age, sweetness, and complexity.
83
What does a stylized "R" logo indicate on a label?
The Muscat of Rutherglen Network member wines
84
The wine state of South Australia is divided into ___ zones,
8
85
Where is production concentrated in the South Australia Zone?
the lower southeastern sector of the state.
86
Where in South Australia is unsuitable for agriculture?
Much of the arid Far North zone, which covers the entire northern portion of the state
87
What does the Limestone Coast Zone region of Coonawarra produce?
The cool, maritime-influenced region produces what is often considered Australia’s best Cabernet Sauvignon
88
What are examples of Coonawarra’s best efforts?
Majella, Wynns' "John Riddoch," and Parker Estate’s “First Growth.”
89
Coonawarra Cabernet is defined by....
elegance, soft tannins, red fruit, and a telltale note of eucalyptus
90
What do the Coonawarra vines enjoy?
A long, even growing season moderated by frequent cloud cover
91
What is a chief hazard in Coonawarra?
spring frost
92
What is the aspect of Coonawarra?
seemingly flat, yet a very slight ridge and the well-drained red “terra rossa” topsoil provides optimal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon.
93
What GI to the north of Coonawarra produces a similar style of Cabernet?
Padthaway GI also includes areas of terra rossa soil
94
Despite its slightly warmer climate, Padthaway has a more what?
even mix of red and white grapes, Riesling and Chardonnay occupy nearly 40% of the total vineyard acreage.
95
What newer GIs compose the remainder of the Limestone Coast regions?
Wrattonbully, Robe, Mount Benson, and Mount Gambier
96
What overall, dominates the cool-climate Limestone coast zone?
red grapes
97
What zone is directly north of the Limestone Coast?
The Lower Murray zone
98
What is the sole GI of The Lower Murray Zone?
the heavily irrigated, bulk wine-producing Riverland GI
99
What is West of Lower Murray and the source of some of Australia’s finest wines?
the zones of Fleurieu, Barossa, and Mount Lofty Ranges
100
What is the climate of Fleurieu?
essentially Mediterranean, tempered by Southern Ocean currents and the effects of the inland Lake Alexandrina, directly south of Langhorne Creek GI
101
What is the Fleurieu zone's most important and warmest GI?
McLaren Vale GI, a predominantly red wine area focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon and Rhône varieties.
102
What are some of McLaren Vale's best-known wines from extremely low-yielding vines?
- D’Arenberg’s “Dead Arm” Shiraz
- Yangarra's "High Sands" Grenache
- Drew Noon’s Grenache-based “Eclipse”
- dry-farmed Clarendon Hills’ “Astralis” Shiraz
103
North of the Fleurieu zone, Mount Lofty Ranges encapsulates what three regions?
Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, and Clare Valley
104
North of the Fleurieu zone, Mount Lofty Ranges encapsulates what three regions?
Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, and Clare Valley
105
What does well in Adelaide Hills GI?
Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and sparkling wines retain good acidity in the region’s cool maritime climate.
106
What does well in Adelaide Hills GI?
Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and sparkling wines retain good acidity in the region’s cool maritime climate.
107
What often produce the better wines in Clare Valley?
Higher-altitude, west-facing slopes, cooled by afternoon breezes and low nighttime temperatures.
108
What often produce the better wines in Clare Valley?
Higher-altitude, west-facing slopes, cooled by afternoon breezes and low nighttime temperatures.
109
What are the unofficial subregions of Clare Valley?
Watervale and Polish Hill River
110
What are the Rieslings of Watervale like?
limestone, piercing, dry buoyed by lime candy, petrol, and tropical notes. Body and alcohol levels are generally a bit higher than Old World, yet the wines can be just as austere in their youth.
111
Who was an early and fervent convert to the screwcap closure, and an acknowledged master of the Clare Valley Riesling style?
Grosset
112
Adelaide Hills and Adelaide Plains should not be confused with what?
the Adelaide GI, a “super zone” allowing producers to blend freely from Barossa, Fleurieu, and Mount Lofty Ranges.
113
Surrounded on three sides by Mount Lofty Ranges, the inland ____ zone is Australia’s most important region for premium Shiraz.
Barossa
114
Where in the Barossa Zone is home to 150-year-old vines?
The Barossa Valley GI (a region within the Barossa zone)
115
What is Barossa Shiraz traditionally aged in?
American oak hogsheads (300 liters), although many producers are now implementing more and more French oak barriques
116
What is on the increase as some look to brighten and lift their Barossa wines, fixing color in the process?
Co-fermentation with Viognier, in the style of Côte-Rôtie
117
____ is based in Barossa Valley, and the company’s iconic “____” bottling usually relies on a substantial portion of Barossa fruit
Penfolds, Grange
118
____ is based in Barossa Valley, and the company’s iconic “____” bottling usually relies on a substantial portion of Barossa fruit
Penfolds, Grange
119
What are other excellent sources for Shiraz and other burly, powerful reds from Barossa?
Torbreck, Peter Lehmann, and Rockford
120
Comparatively, Eden Valley is more evenly distributed in what vs. Barossa Valley?
between white and red production
121
Comparatively, Eden Valley is more evenly distributed in what vs. Barossa Valley?
between white and red production
122
Name some key producers based in Eden Valley
Yalumba, Pewsey Vale, and Henschke
123
Henschke is the producer of what famed wine?
“Hill of Grace” and its precursor, the “Mount Edelstone” Shiraz.
124
Henschke is the producer of what famed wine?
“Hill of Grace” and its precursor, the “Mount Edelstone” Shiraz.
125
Describe Margaret River GI
coastal region, production almost evenly split between red/white wines.
126
Describe Margaret River GI
coastal region, production almost evenly split between red/white wines.
127
What is the climate of Margaret River GI?
maritime climate
128
Name some of Margaret River GIs best-known producers
Cullen, Vasse Felix, Leeuwin Estate and Cape Mentelle
129
Name some of Margaret River GIs best-known producers
Cullen, Vasse Felix, Leeuwin Estate and Cape Mentelle
130
What is Western Australia's second-most prominent region?
The large Great Southern GI, to the east of Margaret River along the southern coastline
131
The sub-region of Mount Barker excels today at what?
cool-climate Riesling, Shiraz, and Cabernet Sauvignon
132
The sub-region of Mount Barker excels today at what?
cool-climate Riesling, Shiraz, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
133
Western Australia is the country’s largest ____ and the wine regions within are the country's most _____
state, isolated
134
What 3 enormous zones cover the inland and southern coast in Western Australia?
1. Eastern Plains
2. Inland and North of Western Australia zone
3. West Australian South East Coastal zone
135
Whereis the majority of viticulture conducted in Western Australia?
the state’s southwestern coast, in the zones of South West Australia and Greater Perth
136
What is the hottest appellation in Australia?
Swan Valley GI (region within Greater Perth)
137
What are the 2 regions of Queensland?
Granite Belt and South Burnett
138
What is the climate of the Granite Belt region?
a continental climate with plentiful summer rain, yet growing patterns for Shiraz and Semillon in the region are moderated by high altitude and cooler mountain air.
139
What seems poised to become Queensland's 3rd GI?
The unofficial region of Darling Downs, directly south of South Burnett
140
What seems poised to become Queensland's 3rd GI?
The unofficial region of Darling Downs, directly south of South Burnett
141
What is the sole GI of Tasmania?
Tasmania, although unofficial regions exist & island can be broadly divided between the northern/southern sectors
142
What is the sole GI of Tasmania?
Tasmania, although unofficial regions exist & island can be broadly divided between the northern and southern sectors
143
What is the climate of Southern Tasmania like?
even cooler, although long sunshine hours during the growing season promote slow, even ripening.
144
What is the climate of Southern Tasmania like?
even cooler, although long sunshine hours during the growing season promote slow, even ripening.
145
What outnumber red plantings on Tasmania?
White grapes, particularly Chardonnay and Riesling, but not by a wide margin.
146
What can flourish in the Pipers River area in Tasmania?
Pinot Noir
147
What can be successful in the Tamar Valley and Coal River areas on Tasmania?
cool-climate Cabernet Sauvignon
148
Overall, Tasmania's island climate is perfectly suited for ___ winemaking
sparkling (finesse, elegance, and acidity can be maintained)
149
What areas in Australia are known for Riesling?
Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Adelaide Hills (South Australia)
| Henty, Geelong, Heathecote (Victoria)
150
What areas are known for Semilloin/SB blends?
```
Yarra Valley (Victoria)
Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills (South Australia)
Hunter Valley (New South Wales)
```
151
Where is exceptional chardonnay produced in Australia?
Beechworth, Victoria (Giaconda Estate)
152
Where does Pinot Noir excell in Australia?
Orange, Canberra (New South Wales)
Macedon Ranges, Yarra Valley, Geelong, Mornington Peninsula, Gippsland (Victoria)
Derwent Valley, Coal River, Huon Valley (Tasmania)
153
Where do Grenache & Grenach blends do well in Australia?
Barossa Valley, McLaren Valley (South Australia)
154
South Australia covers what 8 zones?
1. Adelaide
2. Barossa
3. Far North
4. Fleurieu
5. Limestone Coast
6. Lower Murray
7. Mount Lofty Ranges
8. The Peninsulas
