Australia General Flashcards
Phylloxera was confined to what two states?
Victoria and a portion of New South Wales
What are two key factors that contributed to the rise of South Australia as Australia’s most prominent state?
Phylloxera
- decimated Victorian wine industry, Australia’s most important wine area in late 1800s, cleared way for South Australia
Commonwealth of Australia, est. 1901
- federation brought a relaxation of interstate trade barriers
From the post-phylloxera period until the 1960s, appx. what % of Australia’s production consisted of sweet, fortified wines?
80%
What were Australia’s gross annual wine sales in 2003?
4.5 billion dollars
- Target conservatively set for 2025
In what region will you find the Australian Wine Research Institute and the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)?
Adelaide
Riverland in South Australia and Riverina in New South Wales together account for nearly what % of Australia’s wine production?
40%
In what year was Wine Australia established?
1981
- Originally as the Australia Wine and Brandy Corporation
- Government authority that maintains oversight over the wine industry
- 1993 - Australian government signed an agreement with the EU to prohibit the use of European geographical names on Australian labels, and in turn Australian wine producers gained greater access to European markets. Lesser-used geographical names, like Chianti and Madeira, were phased out by 1997; other more popular names, like Sherry and Tokay, were subject to further negotiations. In order to protect European place names, however, Australia first needed to devise a framework for their own appellations. Thus, the existing Wine and Brandy Corporation Act of 1980 was substantially amended to define Geographical Indications (GIs) and create a Geographical Indications Committee, responsible for determining which regions should be placed on a new Register of Protected Names. The Australian appellation system was born, and the first GIs rolled out in 1994.
The Label Integrity Program was established for what vintage?; what are its requirements?
1990
- min 85% varietal, vintage, area
- Grapes must be listed in order of proportion to the blend
- Any components making up 85% of the blend must be on the label
What is the min % required for grape, year and region stated on a label?
85%
Regions in Australia are known as what?
Geographical Indications (GIs)
Australia appellations are subdivided into what three categories?
Zones, Regions, Subregions
In what year did Wine Australia authorize the multi-state zone of South Eastern Australia?
1996
- South Eastern Australia encompasses all of Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, along with parts of South Australia and Queensland
What is Australia’s most populous state?
New South Wales
What state is the site of Australia’s first vineyards?; in what year were they planted?
New South Wales; 1788
What is the name of the mountain range that runs along the north-south axis of eastern-Australia?
Great Dividing Range
- Separates the wetter coastal areas from the more arid interior
In 2009, terrible brush fires wreaked havoc on vineyards in what region?
Yarra Valley
- Affected other regions in Victoria, direct result of the dry weather
- One of the worst natural disasters in Australia’s history
What wine did Napoleon lll drink during the closing ceremonies of the famous 1855 Paris Exhibition that christened the classified château of Bordeaux?
sparkling Hunter Valley
What was the most important wine region in Austraia in the 1800s?
Victoria
What states of Australia would you find the Great Dividing Range?
- New South Wales
- Victoria
Where would you find Murrumbidgee River?
New South Wales
What state is Riverina located in and what is it known for?
New South Wales
- Inland area of mass production
- De Bortoli and Yellow Tail source a lot from here
Where would you find Murray River?
border between Victoria and NSW
What are the four cornerstones of Australian winemaking?
- Technical proficiency
- Mechanical harvesting
- Irrigation
- Blending
What is the original name of Wine Australia?; when was it founded?; when did the name change?
The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation
- Founded in 1981 to define GI’s and oversee the Register of Protected Names
- Name changed in 2010
What do many of Australia’s luxury bottlings have in common?
They are frequently made from old vine parcels - because of Australia’s success in isolating phylloxera, there are many very old vineyard (150+), planted on their own rootstocks
Wine regions in Australia are defined as what?
Geographical Indications (GIs), and listed on the Register of Protected Names
What are the requirements for a GI, and what are the relative sizes?
GI
- Divided into Zones, Regions, and Subregions
- Each must comprise 5 independently owned vineyards of at least 5 ha each, with a minimum output of 500 tons
When was the Label Integrity Program introduced, and what does it do?
1990
- min 85% vintage, varietal, region
- Multi-vintage: vintages must be listed in descending order of importance
- Blended wine: grapes making up 85% must be listed, no listed variety may be a smaller % than an unlisted variety
- If listing a wine blended across regions, all regions must be listed in descending order of importance
What changed in the Label Integrity Program in 2007?
Previously, all grapes must be listed, regardless of %
If a wine is labeled as Australia, may the producer include vintage or vartietal for export to the EU?
NO
What are the top five variteies by planting?
- Shiraz
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Chardonnay
- Merlot
- Sauvignon Blanc
What are the four largest producers in Australia?
- Accolade (Costellation AUS/Hardy’s)
- Treasury
- Casella
- Pernod Ricard
What is Regulated Deficit Irrigation?
RDI (Regulated Deficit Irrigation)
- System that creates water stress during key periods of the vine’s development by lowering the amount of applied water
- Limits vegetative growth, lowers yields, encourages fruit coloration and smaller berries
- Good for red wines
- Minor water savings
