Australia COPY Flashcards
There are three higher altitude, cooler wine GIs in the North East Victoria Zone (sparkling wine):
King Valley
Alpine Valleys
Beechworth
The Mount Lofty Ranges Zone’s 3 GIs:
Adelaide Hills GI –> Lenswood (Sauv Blanc), Piccadilly (Chardonnay)
Adelaide Plains GI (warmest and driest of the 3)
Clare Valley GI –> Watervale, Polish Hill River (moderate climate)
North East Victoria Zone specializes in:
fortified dessert wines – huge diurnal temps – based on Muscat
Name three rivers that provide irrigation in NSW:
Darling, Murray, and Murrumbidgee Rivers
The one region NOT affected by the crappy weather is ____.
Since 2006 Western Australia has had sublime growing seasons.
Northern Rivers Zone - 1 GI
Northers Slopes Zone - 1 GI
South Coast Zone - 2 GIs
Northern Rivers –> Hastings River GI
Northers Slopes –> New England Australia GI
South Coast Zone –> Southern Highlands GI, Shoalhaven Coast GI
The single most important region of Western Australia is:
Margaret River GI
- Great Southern GI and its 5 subregions are also important:
Franklin River, Mt. Barker, Albany, Denmark, Porongurup
Coonawara (cool Mediterranean) produces some of Australia’s best Cabernet Sauvignon. Why and give examples.
It has a cool Mediterranean climate and it also has terra rossa soil, which is rich in iron. Drier than Bdx, has more sunlight.
Examples include Wynns’ “John Riddoch,” and Parker Estate’s “First Growth.”
Padthaway GI also includes areas of terra rossa soil, and produces a similar style of Cabernet.
Some GIs east of Grampians include (included in the western portion of Victoria):
Pyrenees
Heathcote
What is “Topaque”?
A fortified Tokay style produced from Muscadelle grapes.
The inland zones of North East Victoria, North West Victoria (the hottest), and Central Victoria have what kind of climate?
Continental. North West Victoria is the hottest; irrigation is essential.
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.
What is Broke Fordwich?
A sub-region of Hunter Valley. It claims the oldest Verdelho plantings in the country and offers dynamic Semillon wines sourced from sandy, alluvial soils. Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are Broke Fordwich’s most important red grapes.
Which vintages were severely affected by drought in SE Australia?
2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009
What are the 7 zones of South Australia?
Barossa Far North Fleurieu Lower Murray Limestone Coast Mount Lofty Ranges The Peninsulas
Lenswood and Piccadilly Valley subregions are in:
Top producers here?
Adelaide Hills GI
Shaw + Smith, BK Wines, Bird in Hand
Australia’s most common clone, thought to have been brought from Clos Vougeot by James Busby in the early 19th century, is:
Who was James Busby?
MV6 clone
He was a Scottish-born botanist; he planted hundreds of cuttings/specimens.
The island state of Tasmania is Australia’s coolest wine-producing area and its sole GI is:
Tasmania GI
What is the Muscat of Rutherglen Network?
It is a producers’ syndicate established in 1995, and it has developed a voluntary four-tier classification system for the wines based on age, sweetness, and complexity. The ages and residual sugar ranges for each category are indicative of each classification, but not absolute. Producers are responsible for classifying their own wines, based on taste alone, and member wines are denoted by the inclusion of a stylized “R” logo on the label.
Today, Australia is the ____ largest wine exporter in volume, behind Italy, France, and Spain.
4th largest
The world’s oldest Syrah/Shiraz vines are found in Barossa:
Oldest Mataro vines:
Australia’s oldest Cab Sauv vines:
Shiraz: Langmeil’s “Freedom” vineyard, planted in 1843
Mataro: Koch family’s “Old Garden” 1853
CS: Penfolds’ “Block 42,” in Kalimna, dates to 1888
Another factor that allowed the rise of South Australia’s wine prominence was:
The creation of Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 – it brought a relaxation of the interstate trade barriers.
What is regulated deficit irrigation (RDI)?
RDI creates water stress during certain key periods of the vine’s development by lowering the total amount of applied irrigation water. By utilizing RDI after fruit set, vineyard managers could limit vegetative growth while enhancing fruit coloration and restricting berry size, and it is thus particularly useful for red wine grapes. However, water deficit may lower yield, and negatively impact the development of aromatic varieties by slowing the accumulation of monoterpenes in the ripening grapes. RDI provides only marginal water use savings, and lower water use efficiency.
Famous wines from McLaren Vale GI include:
D’Arenberg’s “Dead Arm” Shiraz
Yangarra’s “High Sands” Grenache
Drew Noon’s Grenache-based “Eclipse”
the dry-farmed Clarendon Hills’ “Astralis” Shiraz
Lower Murray zone is directly north of the Limestone Coast and its one GI is:
Riverland GI. Its climate is continental and hot.
What is the capital of South Australia? Does SA remain phylloxera-free?
Adelaide
yes
New South Wales accounts for approximately ___% of Australia’s wine production, with over half of the state’s production concentrated west of the Great Dividing Range in the heavily irrigated Riverina region, also known as the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.
25%
Top Barossa vintages in Australia from 1990:
2005, 2010 spectacular (high points)
Good vintages:
1994, 1996, 1998
2001-2004, 2006, 2012, 2013
When were the first GIs rolled out in Australia?
1994
As in other New World countries, Australia’s GIs are purely geographic in scope, with no restrictions on grape varieties, yields, or other viticultural techniques.
What are the four classifications for vines in the Barossa Old Vine Charter (self-regulated)?
Old Vine: 35+ years old
Survivor Vine: 70+ years old
Centenarian Vine: 100 years old
Ancestor Vine: 125+ years old
What is the famous fortified wine Seppetsfield makes?
“100 Year Old Para Liqueur”
How many zones does Victoria have?
19
What other grape is popular in Hunter Valley?
Verdelho.
What are Fleurieu Zone’s 5 GIs?
McLaren Vale GI Langhorne Creek GI Currency Creek GI Southern Fleurieu GI Kangaroo Island GI
Name two famous Barossa Valley GI Shiraz
Elderton’s “the Command”
Torbreck’s “RunRig”
Who was James Busby?
A British minister involved in early viticultural efforts in New South Wales in the 1830s.
He planted French and Spanish cuttings at his Northland, NZ estate.
Hunter Valley’s most planted grape is ____, aka ____.
Semillon, aka Hunter Riesling.
Eight wineries today produce fortified Muscat wines:
All Saints Buller Campbells Chambers Morris Pfeiffer Rutherglen Estates Stanton & Killeen
The climate of Fleurieu zone is:
Mediterranean.
When did wines first emerge from Margaret River GI?
The 1970s.
Vasse Felix Moss Wood Cullen - all created by doctors Leeuwin Estate
What are the 4 tiers of the Muscat of Rutherglen Network?
Rutherglen Muscat
Classic Muscat
Grand Muscat - pretty oxidative
Rare Muscat - sweet and concentrated
From 2011 onward Australian producers were barred from using European GIs like Burgundy, Champagne, Sherry, and Port; and Traditional Expressions like Claret and Amontillado.
Shiraz could henceforth no longer be labeled as its traditional Australian synonym “Hermitage.” Some expressions, such as Tawny, Solera, and Icewine, were reaffirmed for use under the new agreement, but the hotly contested “Tokay,” used by Rutherglen producers for more than a century, will be finally phased out by 2020. The loss of old terms is a catalyst for replacements: Tokay becomes Topaque and Sherry becomes Apera, an all-too-Australian play on “aperitif.”
Who makes Yellow Tail?
Casella Family.
Margaret River GI’s reputation has been built on:
Cabernet Sauvignon, although it does grow other grapes
What’s the Port Phillip Zone?
The name of the regions clustered around Melbourne. It has a maritime climate (Region 1 or 2)
2012 and 2013 were great vintages in Australia everywhere except:
New South Wales.
Sub-region Swan Valley is located where?
Within Swan District GI. First vintage here was in 1834.
