Australia Flashcards
Attributes to Australia’s initial success as wine producing country
Easy drinking wines - fruit driven.
Varietal labeling for simplicity.
Value for money
Forefront of vineyard and winery development - innovation and modernisation.
Strong marketing as “brand Australia”
Well priced, readily available wine with consistent quality
Negatives that have affected Australian wine rep and sales
Wine glut - oversupplied world market - quality and rep suffered.
Bulk production “critter” brands
Over aggressive pricing to meet global competition lead to decline in quality.
Water shortage - no longer sustainable to produce huge quantities of wine at entry level prices.
Lack of regional identity among bulk wines.
Wine Australia
Government authority est 1981. Maintains oversight over wine industry. Regulates label languGe, defining geog boundaries, moderating trade and promoting products and home and abroad.
It introduced label integrity program in 1990 stating any varietal, vintage, regional wines must by 85% of what it states (variety, vintage, region). If blended, grapes must be listed in order of blend amounts.
What are Australian GIs
Defined by wine Australia as geographical indications. - formal appellation protection. Purely geographical in scope, no restrictions on varietals, yields, etc.
Each appellation divided into
Zones
Regions
Sub-regions
Australian zones
Large areas without any particular attributes. Can be part of a state (limestone coast), a state itself (south Australia) or cover several states (south-eastern Australia -this band covers 95% of oz vineyard area).
Australian regions
Vary in size but smaller than zones. Must have consistent and distinct qualities that set them apart from neighboring regions.
Wine Aus defines region and sub region as single tracts of land comprised of at least 5 independently owned vineyards of atleast 5ha a piece with min output of 500 tons grapes annually.
Australian sub-regions
Notable areas within regions that have distinct and unique qualities. Sub-region must fall within a single region.
Wine Aus defines region and sub region as single tracts of land comprised of at least 5 independently owned vineyards of atleast 5ha a piece with min output of 500 tons grapes annually.
South eastern Australia covers what regions?
South Australia - fruit from Riverland
New South Wales - fruit from riverina
Victoria - fruit from Murray darling.
Fruit from barrossa, Adelaide hills and mc Laren vale (all in south Australia) sometimes also blended in to enhance quality. Blending choices depend on price, brand and style sought after.
Areas covered produce 95% of wine made in Oz.
It is a SUPER ZONE- allows blending from all regions and still qualifies for a GI designation. Mainly used by large bulk brands.
Australia’s climate
Overall predominantly Mediterranean in most of the production regions (except Tasmania) - most regions have Equatorial latitudes leading to warm to hot growing conditions tempered by proximity to southern or Indian Ocean, or Murray River.
Vintage takes place between feb-April, for most regions, cooler spots dip into may.
Threats to Oz wine industry
Severe droughts, water availability and climate change - Murray darling greatly affected
Supply-demand imbalances leading to overproduction aggressive, unsustainable pricing - little profit made.
Topography - vineyard sites in Oz
Due to arid, desert outback, most vineyards are planted near coast on flat or rolling countryside. Murray-darling (inland) was exception due to Murray river, however, drought has heavily threatened this area. Plentiful irrigation is no longer an option.
Viticulture - Oz training methods
Most young or newer vineyards are grafter, wire trained for ease of pruning and mech harvesting. But older Shiraz sites, some of the worlds oldest, are ungrafted, bush trained.
Big rivers zone - oz
Irrigation from large rivers, but in constant threat due to droughts.
Murray-darling
Riverina
Riverlands
Mainly inexpensive table wine / some good botrizyes wines from semillon (riverina).
New South Wales
Oz most populous state. Consumes more wine than it produces.
Hunter valley zone - upper hunter, lower hunter
Central ranges zone - mudgee, orange, cowra
Southern New South Wales zone - hilltops, Canberra, gundagai, tumbarumba.
Riverina (in big rivers zone which also includes Murray-darling in the state of Victoria).
Hunter valley zone
130km/80m from Sydney. Popular tourist destination due to proximity to city. Makes less than 3% of oz wine.
Upper hunter zone and lower hunter zone. Lower is the touristy bit, renowned for its semillon. Best chards found in north.
Hot Mediterranean but moderated by high humidity, afternoon cloud cover and high rainfall. Unpredictable weather at harvest - rot, mold and dilution are concerns. Good canopy management is essential for stopping rot problems. Soils - well draining silty loam.
Exceptionally long lived dry semillon (low alco 10-20 yr lifespan) and leathery, silly Shiraz (worn sweat saddle character) - ager. Viscous Chardonnays w new world fruit character are popular. CS, inoaked Verdejo also popular.
Mudgee
In central ranges zone/ NSW state.
Oldest zone with long winemaking history. 1858. No phylloxera.
Hot Mediterranean. Red wine county - Shiraz, CS - big rich and deep.
Central ranges zone
Mudgee, cowra, orange. On west slopes of great dividing range, son planted st altitude. making it a cool climate. Concentrated, elegant chard and CS produced here. Orange is very cool. Mudgee hot.
Orange OZ
In central ranges zone/ NSW.
High elevation planting result in cool climate wines of great complexity. Altitudes of 600-900m on old volcanic site. Coolest of the regions in the central ranges zone. Lively chard and mid-weight CS Merlot and Shiraz produced. Cool nights and long dry Autumn assist in slow ripening and late harvest dates - complexity acid and balance.
Cowra oz
In central ranges, NSW. Warmer than Orange cooler than Mudgee. Vineyards planted at lower sights than Orange. Flatter sites aid in easy harvest and irrigation used. Soft chards are the highlight. CS Chirac and merlot of middle weight but not as complex and interesting as chard.
Southern New South Wales zone
Canberra and Hilltops regions here.
Canberra
In southern NSW/ NSW state. Tehnicalky also split with Australian Capital Territory. Canberra is the capital of Australia.
Considerable site climate diversity due to altitude variations.
Higher sites - 599-800m great for Riesling, Pinot, semillon-SB blends, chard. Lower sites - Great Shiraz produced here. More hot continental climate. Some co-ferments with Viognier produce excellent wine. (Clonakilla). CS blends also done well in right sites.
Australia - history and basics
Young country but boasts an impressive wine industry and history of achievement and innovation going back more than 2 centuries.
Vines arrived on first prison fleet in 1788. Today ranks 6 in world in wine production and 4th largest exporter after France Italy and Spain. Exports to over 120 countries.
Big rivers zone
Bulk production sites of Murray darling (Victoria) Riverland (south Australia) riverina (NSW). Heavily irrigated by rivers but zones are threatened by drought. Bulk production zone. Focus on chard, Shiraz, CS and Merlot.
High yeilds sought for cost effectiveness. Mechanic harvested, warm climate wines - sound, technicallly excellent winery practices ensure clean, fault free, mildly fruit wines of average quality but good value.
Some good botrzed wines of semillon made in riverina.
Murray darling
Straddles darling river and Murray river in Victoria and NSW. Irrigation dependent. Water rights probems. Soils have little water holding abilities. Source of bulk fruit for big brands. High yeilds, low cost fruit - but
Quality levels are changing as climate issues have to be addressed and consumers demand for better quality.
Victoria
3rd most important wine state in Oz. diverse region w 25% of production. Broad diversity of wine on offer.
Zones.
North west Victoria - Murray darling (split with NSW)
Port Phillip zone - yarra valley region, mornington peninsula , geelong
North east Victoria zone - rutherglen
Central Victoria - heathcote, goulburn valley
Western Victoria - grampians, Pyrenees
Golden age of Victoria in 1890s - it produced 1/2 of oz output. Ravaged by phylloxera, First World War and changing consumption patterns had drastic affect on output.
Port Phillip zone
In Victoria zone in Oz.
Home to yarra valley
Mornington peninsula and geelong
Encircles port Phillip bay
Yarra valley
Oz oldest wine region. 45 min drive from mebournes NE suburbs. Smallest and coolest state on mainland. Moet and Chandon based here.
Moderate and maritime climate with heavy rainfall (1000 mm yr).
2 distinct soil types divide the area: low fertile sandy loam and fertile red volcanic soils. Pinot noir is the specialty, Chardonnay also highly sought after. Cool climate styles. Also high quality sparkling.
Age worthy chards and pinots from top producers (mount Mary). Some Shiraz (blended with Viognier) and CS also produced in firm tannin, restrained style.
Mornington peninsula h
South of Melbourne. Even cooler than yarra valley. Windy, pronounced maritime climate. Vintages can vary due to wet windy weather at flowering. Best vintages have long growing season - producing elegant and fragrant wines. Best in their youth due to being very fragrant.
. Pinot noir Pinot Gris and chard thrive. Too cool for CS as its late ripening. Home to loads of boutique wineries.
Pinots range from light and elegant to structured and deep in complexity. Chards reflect cool climate - mlf done. Florals and citrus.
Geelong
Located in port Philip / Victoria. Cool maritime climate like Mornington but more barren. Pinot, chard and Shiraz are stars here. Very high quality. Pinots are earthy and more bugundia in style with less fruit character. Chards and rich and lees driven, Shiraz peppery and fresh (n Rhone in style)
North east Victoria
King valley, alpine and rutherglen
Zone in Victoria - either legend in here - stickies produced here. Muscat grape
King valley and alpine regions also here - experimental zones, high altitude, cool climate. Experimenting with Sangiovese and graciano. Some chard and Shiraz on lower sites.
Central Victoria zone
Located in Victoria state, Oz. Heathcote & goulborne valley located here. More continental climate than port Philip area. Only slightly cooler than NW zone which holds Murray darling.
Goulbourne and heathcote specialise in Rhone varietals - marsanne roussanne Viognier and Shiraz with come cab sauv.
Tablik winery - located in goulborne valley specializes in very old Shiraz and marsanne vines from 1860. Victoria was heavily ravaged by phylloxera; but areas like this fought it off.
North west Victoria zone
In Victoria. Murray darling and swan hill located here - shared with NSW. Hottest of the Victoria sub regions. Very continental in climate. Irrigation a must. Drought the most pressing issue.
Western Victoria zone
Grampians, Pyrenees, bendigo regions
In Victoria state. Grampians region Pyrenees and bendigo regions.
Grampians - rich limestone soil - sparkling Shiraz made here to much success. Some awesome still Shiraz made as well, powerful
Style.
Pyrneneee - cooler - chard dominant
Bendigo - slightly warmer than pyr…Shiraz and cab dominant.
South Australia
Very productive state. Contributes 43% of oz total output. Phylloxera free. Very strict quarantine regulations. Most vineyards populate south east of state. Loads of premium vineyards, high quality state. North of state is so hot it’s unsuitable for most agriculture.
Zones:
Lower Murray zone - Riverland, bulk. Hot climate, flat.
Fleurieu zone - mcLaren vale
Barossa zone - barossa valley, Eden valley
Mount lofty - clare valley, Adelaide hills.
Limestone coast - coonawara, padrhaway
Barossa zone
In south Australia. Barossa valley and Eden valley. North of Adelaide.
30km in length. Considered fine wine heartland. Huge German influence due to early German immigrant settlements in the area. No phylloxera, boasts some of the
Oldest Shiraz vines in the world
Barossa valley
In barossa zone / south Australia. Surrounded by mount lofty ranges. Big German influence from 19th c settlers.
Limestone and ironstone soils. Hot climate with long dry summers - irrigation needed. Home to 150 year d vines. A celebrated region for top quality bush vine Shiraz. Shiraz is rich opaque dense, heavily extracted - dark fruit and choco, and Oaked- -‘ American (hogsheads) was traditional but more producers have turned to French barriques. Cote-rote style also popular due to Viognier offering lift and lightness. Grenache, can and Mataro also popular (also all old old, ungrafted bush vines)
Dry farmed, bush pruned low yielding Shiraz vines are what the valley does best
Robsinson quotes - the most famous wine region in Australia.
A major grape processing zone - many wineries pull in grapes from riverland, coonawara, mclaren vale, etc. Blending is totally legal.
Penfolds, Jacobs creek, glaetzer, torbreck, henschke all based here.
Eden valley
In barossa zone / south Australia. Now a key Riesling producing region (barossa used to be, but climate and chard popularity pushed Riesling to cooler Eden valley).
In the hills surrounding barossa.
Very high quality Rieslings - dry to off dry with high acid and distinct Limey aromas. Petrol and honey with age.
Medium bodies Shiraz of excellent quality also located here.
Henschke and yalumba have wineries here
McLaren Vale
In Fleurieu peninsula zone / south Australia.
Strong maritime influence. South of Adelaide on the coast. Well known picture of surfer with board in a vineyard, looking out at the sea. Climate moderated by proximity to water.
Pungeant SB, melon-tinged chard and full bodied semillon are popular. Reds - Juicy soft full bodied reds from CS, Shiraz merlot Grenache.
Great quality wines better known to the industry rather than the public. Much of the production sadly ends up in regional blended wine.
Neighbor to Langhorn creek - principle fruit source for Jacobs creek wines.
Langhorn creek
In Fleurieu peninsula / south Australia
Main source for Jacobs creek fruit. Maritime
Mount lofty ranges zone
In south oz.
Key regions
Clare valley
Adelaide hills
Clare valley
An unspoilt Jewel. Rolling hills, north of barossa but part of mount lofty range. Steeped in history reflected in culture and architecture - England Ireland and Poland.
Strong continental climate - warm days very cool nights.
Australia’s finest Riesling produced here. Bone dry, high acid.
Lime and tennis balls, petrol and toast with age.
Loads of boutique wineries - all prod Riesling Shiraz and CS and Malbec (only place that is flourishes). Deep coloured, age worthy reds.
Grosset - best riesling. Springvale and polish hill are Delish
Adelaide hills region
In mount lofty zone / south Australia. Cool climate. South of Eden valley and barossa, but geographically linked to northern Clare valley due to Mntn range.
Region specializes in cool climate chards with mineral and stone fruit character, some have opulence acid and flavour structure that parallels sauv Blanc (Piccadilly valley).
Limestone coast zone/ coonawara/padthaway
In south Australia. Near Victoria, 400km se of Adelaide. Rich is tessa Rossa soils - iron and magnesium over limestone base. Cool climate. Known for supple, eucalyptus flavoured Cab. Cool climate w/ ocean current influences. with Spring frost issues, rain at harvest and underipness can be annual concern. In best years wines can be extremely high quality, nuanced and long lived. Cool climate means quality driven, earthy wines.
Padthaway has similar soils but slightly warmer climate.
Western Australia
Tiny production but many awards. 3% of prod but wines win 30% of awards. Small boutique wineries are King. High quality and equally high prices on international market.
Perth zone - swan valley region (hot dry summers, historic)
South West Zone - Margaret river
Great southern - frankland river, mount barker
Margaret river
In Western Australia. 200km south of Perth. Isolated side of Aussie wkne prod. Lots of small producers, Hugh prices.
Cool maritime climate - dry warm summers, wet winters. Strong winds are issue at flowering. Irrigation needed due to high salt content in ground water.
Like coonawara, Margaret rib is classic region for CS
cab, BDX blends, elegant chard, aromatic, figgy semillon.
Frankland river &a mount barker
In western aus. Sub regions of great southern - young area with widely spread, Young plantings. CS. Shiraz (full bodied) and Riesling are gaining reputation.
Flying winemaker
Coined by English wine merchant tony laithwaite for a team of young Aussie winemakers he hired to work 87 vintage in French coop wineries.
Idea - apply Aussie skill tech expertise and hard work to inexpensive grapes to improve quality and create a unique range of wines for his business.
The term and the practice is now globalised to much success.
Possible due to highly trained s hem winemakers idol during northern hem harvest time - then able to fly over and work wines for owners/wineries with less experience. “Bought-in oenology” for areas with lots of inexpensive grapes with unrealised potential.
Critiques
Critiques of flying winemaker practice
Critics say that a flying winemakers involvement with so many different estates and products homogenises the style and reflects style of wine maker rather than unique style of the region.
Australian wine research institute (AWRI)
Based on Adelaide, S Australia. Aussie grape and wine industry's own research organisation. Research and knowledge supports a sustainable and world class industry. Est 1955 governed by industry led board. Supports grape growers and wine makers via research and help assistance.
Research areas include : wine and grape composition/quality/characteristics, industry development, oenological activites and research, events and outreach. Strong focus on dry farming techniques (Aussie drought) and commercial wine operation.
CSIRO
Commonwealth scientific and industrial research organisation.
One of the worlds largest research organisation. Early research for aus wine industry Involved n hemisphere practices being used in s hemisphere, studies into pests and diseases, pruning, harvesting and viticultural technology. 90s saw move into genetic modification and study of genetics, aroma and grape characteristics.
Penfolds
Australia’s most iconic wine brand. Founded in 1844, high end grange vintage came out in 1951. Grange is always a multi region multi vineyard blend from south Australia - key
Regions are barossa, Clare, mclaren vale, coonawara, padthaway. Predominantly Shiraz with up to 8% can blended in. Very high end and sought after. Wines age 30 years or more.
Penfolds 707 - Cabernet sauv. Also multi blend with most fruit coming from barossa, mclaren vale and coonawara. 100% new American oak. Some vintages haven’t been made due to lesser quality of fruit - ie 03 and 11
Also have a vast range of Shiraz-cab blends, chardonnay, Eden valley reisling, Pinot noir. “Bin” labels are at the core of their brands.
First vintage of grange
Experimentally 1951, commercially 1952
One of the best grange collections is at hedonist wines, London.
Who owns penfolds and lindemans
Owned by treasury wine estates (wine arm of fosters, de merged in 2011)
How many hectares of Shiraz are planted across Australia (most widely grown grape)
42,000 hectares
What is the oldest wine region in Australia
Hunter valley
What are the 2 most important varieties in Oz and how much of the market do they make up?
Shiraz and Chardonnay - 44% of the market
