General

Question 1

Phylloxera was first discovered in Australia in what year?

Answer 1

1877 – in Victoria

Question 2

First plantings in Australia were where?

Answer 2

New South Wales, at the end of the 18th century. Vinifera cuttings brought from South African Cape of Good Hope – It was too hot and humid at the original site and the vines rotted so they moved inland and established the Hunter Valley

Question 3

As opposed to site specific wines, Australia generally produces (especially on the lower end):

Answer 3

Wines made by the process of selecting and blending

Question 4

Facts about Penfold’s Grange

Answer 4

Grapes grown at sites up to 600 miles (970km) apart, starting with enough in barrel and tank to make 40k cases they choose the best and end up with 7k cases of grange, then use the remainder on their lower tier wines

Question 5

Climate

Answer 5

Generally sunny, stable and mediterranean – some parts however have quite cool nights

Question 6

Harvest time:

Answer 6

Feb through to May

Question 7

challenges

Answer 7

rot, frost and drought. Strong winds (salty, coastally). Kangaroos! (barbed wire keeps them out). Small population, therefore lack of harvest workers – hence the automation

Question 8

main white grapes

Answer 8

Chardonnay, Muscadelle, Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Verdelho, Viognier

Question 9

main red grapes

Answer 9

Cab Sauv, Grenache, Merlot, Mourvedre, Pinot Noir, Shiraz

Question 10

Chardonnay

Answer 10

grown practically everywhere, 1st was Tyrells vat 47 in 1971

Question 11

notable Chardonnays

Answer 11

Leeuwin Estate’s Art Series, Penfolds Yattarna, Vasse Felix, Rosemount Estate’s Roxbrough

Question 12

Semillion

Answer 12

Young Aus semillion is edgy and acidic, notably from hunter valley where the style emegred because they needed to pick while barely ripe to avoid autumn rains. Young style is also made in Adelaide Hills and Margaret River, where it is blended with Sauv Blanc like a bordeaux style. At 5+ years it begins to taste like brioche, honey and roast cashew.

Question 13

notable Semillons

Answer 13

Tyrell’s Vat 1 (lots of awards), Hart & Hunter, Vasse Felix, Rothbury Estate, Thomas Wines, Tim Adams

Question 14

Cab Sauv

Answer 14

Aus might host the oldest living Cab vines in the world, planted in 1888 – Penfolds block 42 parcel in the kalimna vineyard in Barossa. Blackberry, black current, green tobacco, chapparal. Notable regions: Coonawarra and Margaret River. Often blended with shiraz.

Question 15

notable Cab Sauvs

Answer 15

Cape Mentelle, Cullen, Greenock Creek, Hardys, Henschke, Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood, Noon, Penfolds, Vasse Felix, Wendouree, Yarra Yerling

Question 16

Grenache

Answer 16

Brought to AUS by James Busby in the 1820s and 30s. There are still surviving 100 year old vineyards that might have been ripped out if there weren’t an integral ingredient in AUS’s fortified wines. FLAVOUR PROFILE: vibrant, spicy, kirschlike. Boysenberry and cherry – fuller than pinot, lighter than cab

Question 17

notabe Grenache

Answer 17

d’Arenberg’s The Beautiful View, Kilikanoon’s The Duke, Yalumba’s Bush Vine

Question 18

Shiraz

Answer 18

AUS’s leading grape. Used to be called hermitage there until that region of france pressed their copyright laws, so they started calling it shiraz instead (even though the grape is syrah). Grown practically everywhere. Sometimes blended with Grenache, sometimes with Cab Sauv. FLAVOUR PROFILE: dark plum, boysenberry, blueberry and mocha – hints of spice, violet, black pepper and sometimes gaminess and ferrous (iron/blood)

Question 19

notable shirazes

Answer 19

Penfolds Grange – first bottled in 1951 by their winemaker at the time Max Schubert who wanted to emulate the intensity and structure of bordelais wines after a trip to france. Sometimes 100% shiraz, sometimes some cab is blended in

Question 20

Name the States of Australia (wine bible order)

Answer 20

South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania

Question 21

wine australia

Answer 21

established in 1981 as the Australia Wine and Brandy Corporation. Maintains oversight over the wine industry: label language, geographical boudaries of wine regions, moderates export and trade, promotes domestically and internationally

Question 22

viticultultural tech that AUS has embraced

Answer 22

irrigation, canopy management, mechanical harvesting (so sites tend to be flat), cultured yeast, acidulation and micro-oxygenation – chaptalization is illegal

Question 23

Regionality in Australia

Answer 23

Regions are defined as Gis (Geographical Indications). Purely geographical boundaries – they impose no restrictions on varieties, yields, etc

Question 24

define regions:

Answer 24

single tracts of land, comprising at least five independently owned vineyards of at least five hectares apiece, with a minimum output of 500 tons of wine grapes annually. Regions are not necessarily contained within a single zone, nor are zones necessarily contained within a single state.

Question 25

South Eastern Australia zone

Answer 25

Est. 1996. encompasses all of Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, along with the winegrowing areas of South Australia and Queensland.

Question 26

Answer 26