Australia and New Zealand Flashcards
Who owns Penfolds and Lindemans?
Treasury Wine Estates
Phylloxera befell Australia in the latter half of the 19th century but it was confined to what two states due to extreme measures to isolate it?
Victoria and a portion of New South Whales
What two major happenings led to the rise of South Australia’s wine region?
The containment of phylloxera in Victoria and New South Whales along with the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Why was the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia a major contribution to the rise of South Australia as a wine region?
It relaxed interstate trade barriers.
Which Australian state produces about 50% of the country’s wine today?
South Australia
From the post phylloxera period up until the 1960’s what styles of wine was Australia known for?
Sweet and fortified wines; about 80% of production
In the decade before WWII, Britain imported more wine from Australia than from which country?
France
Which type of wine bottle closure is Australia known for being an early proponent of?
The stelvin enclosure. (screw top)
What are the top 4 exporting countries of wine in the world?
1) Italy
2) France
3) Spain
4) Australia
What components are the heart of Australian commercial winemaking?
- Technical proficiency
- Mechanical harvesting
- Irrigation
- Blending
What is the term for winemakers that spread their technical acumen across the globe and where did this term originate?
“flying winemakers”; Australia
Among other things what are flying winemakers most notable for in regards to technical acumen?
Modern canopy management techniques and soil mapping
What common wine practice in cooler climates is not allowed in Australia?
Chaptalization; grapes do not have a problem ripening here.
Why have Australian producers traditionally planted on flat plains rather than the more ideal, but somewhat unworkable hillsides in the past?
Due to a lack of population and cheap labor, Australian winemakers have traditionally relied on mechanical harvesting, thus the need to plant on workable sites for mechanical harvesters.
In Australia’s low cost vineyards what counterintuitive technique was developed by CSIRO to restrict vigor in the vineyard?
minimal or zero pruning
What does CSIRO stand for?
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization; based in Adelaide
What two GIs rely heavily on irrigation and together account for 40% of Australia’s total production?
Riverina in New South Whales and Riverland in South Australia
What common practice in Australia helps to assure quality and a sense of brand consistency at both the mass-market levels and the highest levels of quality?
Blending across large tracts of land, sometimes across several states.
Who introduced Grange? When? What producer makes it? What was its original name?
Max Schubert introduced “Grange Hermitage” for Penfold’s winery in 1951
Who makes Hill of Grace? From what grape?
Henschke; Shiraz
Why does Australia have some of the oldest wines in the world planted on their original rootstocks?
Because of Australia’s successful Isolation of Phylloxera to New South Whales and Victoria
Who makes Octavius and from what grape?
Yalumba; Shiraz
What is the name of Clarendon Hill’s top wine?
Astralis
Who makes RunRig Shiraz?
Torbreck
What has slowed the growth of the Australian wine region, but may ultimately lead to regulation of the country’s oversupply?
Climatic troubles specifically drought which has led to devastating brush fires. Also the limited access to water for irrigation due to more restricted water rights.
How much earlier do wines in the southern hemisphere of a given vintage hit the shelves before their northern hemisphere counterparts?
6 months due to harvest occurring 6 months earlier
What roles does Wine Australia play for the Australian wine industry?
Regulates label language, defines geographic boundaries of wine regions, moderates trades and exports, and promotes the product at home and abroad.
When was the Label Integrity Program introduced and what does it entail?
1990; it requires any wines labeled by variety, vintage, or region to contain a minimum of 85% of stated grape, year, or region respectively. If multiple grapes are listed the varieties must be listed in order according to the proportion they make up in the blend. Additionally all components that make up 85% of the blend must be listed and no un listed varietal may make up more than a listed variety.
What was Wine Australia’s original name when it was established in 1981?
the Australia Wine and Brandy Corporation
What does GI stand for?
Geographic Indication
What is the name of the list that contains all of the GIs as a means of formal appellation protection?
the Register of Protected Names
How are Australia’s GIs similar to other New World geographic designations?
Purely geographic in scope; no restrictions on grape varietals, yields, etc.
What is the hierarchy of Australian geographic designation starting from the highest level?
State > Zones > regions > subregions
What does Wine Australia define both regions and sub regions as?
Single tracts of land comprising at least 5 independently owned vineyards of at least 5 hectares a piece with a minimum output of 500 tons of grapes annually
The multistage zone of South Eastern Australia encompasses which wine growing states?
Victoria, New South Whales, Tasmania, New South Whales, South Australia, and Queensland
Which is Australia’s most popular state and the site of the country’s first vineyards? When were these vineyards planted?
New South Whales; 1788
What is the name of the Mountain Range that separates the wetter coastal areas of Australia from the more arid interior?
The Great Dividing Range
Which Australian State accounts for approximately one quarter of Australia’s wine production?
New South Whales
Over half of New South Whales is located west of the Great Dividing Range. What vineyard practice is heavily relied on because of this?
Irrigation because the climate west of the Range is very arid.
What is the Riverina region also known as?
the Murumbidgee Irrigation Area
Who makes Yellow Tail and where do they source most of their grapes from?
Casella; Riverina
What is Noble One, who produces it, and from which region?
a botryitised dessert wine made from Semillon, produced by De Bortoli in Riverina
What kind of sparkling wine did Napoleon III sip at the closing ceremonies of the Paris Exhibition, the same famous event that christened the classified growths of the Medoc?
A sparkling wine from the Hunter Valley
What kind of climate does Hunter Region have?
Sub-tropical
What mitigates the warm climate of the Hunter region?
High amounts of humidity, rain, and wind
Why is Hunter Region counterintuitive in regards to wine production?
Despite their warm climate they produce more white wine than red. (60%)
What is the synonym for Hunter Region’s greatest grape, Semillon?
Hunter Riesling
What is Vat 1 and who makes it?
Hunter Valley Semillon produced by Tyrrell
What is surprising about Semillon in Hunter or “Hunter Riesling” ?
Despite the warm climate, the grape rarely achieves more than 11-12% ABV
What other white grape is popular in Hunter that you might be more likely to find in Portugal?
Verdelho
Which Australian subregion lays claim to the oldest Verdelho plantings in the country?
Broke Fordwich, a subregion of Hunter.
What are Hunter Region’s most important red grapes?
Shiraz and Cabernet
Where is Tumbarumba and what style of wines is it most known for? Grapes?
Southwest of the Canberra region in New South Whales; known for sparkling wines from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
What is the name of the mountain range containing many of the slopes planted with grapes destined for sparkling wine production in Tumbarumba?
The Snowy Mountains
What is the name of the smallest and coolest state on the Australian mainland?
Victoria
Why is it so cool in Victoria and why are average winter temperatures around Port Phillip lower than those found in Bordeaux and Burgundy?
Cool breezes blow up from Antarctica
Why does Cabernet Sauvignon find less success on Mornington Peninsula?
The climate here is too cool and later-ripening varietals such as Cabernet do not bode well here.
What three grapes have shown the most success in Mornington Peninsula?
Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay
Who owns the Australian Domaine Chandon?
Möet & Chandon
Where is Domaine Chandon?
Yarra Valley
What two zone GIs are shared between Victoria and New South Whales?
Murray Darling and Swan Hill
What producer in the Nagambie Lakes subregion of Goulburn Valley produces a Shiraz made form vines planted in 1860?
Tahbilk
What other grape in addition to Shiraz is Tahbilk known for?
Marsanne. Oldest vines in Australia and possibly the world.
Where are Rutherglen and Glenrowan and what style of wines are they famous for?
North East Victoria zone; sweet fortified wines
What grape is used in the production of “Topaque” style (formerly Tokay)?
Muscadelle
What grape is the star of Rutherglen’s wines?
Brown Muscat (Muscat à Petits Grains Rouge)
Established in 1995, what producers’ syndicate developed a four-tier classification system for the wines of Rutherglen based on age, sweetness, and complexity?
The Muscat of Rutherglen Network
What demarcation is listed on bottles that are included in the Muscat of Rutherglen Network?
A stylized “R” logo on the label.
How many different zones are in the wine state of South Australia?
8
What is the name of the region in the Limestone Coast zone said to produce some of Australia’s best Cabernet Sauvignon?
Coonawarra