New South Wales Flashcards
What is Australia’s oldest continually operating winery?
When was it started?
By whom?
Wyndham Estate (until 2015)/ Dalwood Estate (since 2016) in Hunter Valley
George Wyndham
1828
Who is considered the father of Australian wine?
What did he do?
James Busby
Brought vine cuttings from Europe in 1831 and split them between his Hunter valley estate and the Sydney botanic garden
Did Phylloxera effect NSW?
Sort of… it arrived in Sydney in 1884, but was effectively contained and never reached many areas such as Hunter Valley
What project allowed for grape production in the Riverina region of Australia?
When?
The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area brought water from the Murrumbidgee River, a tributary of the Murray, to the previously dry Riverina region which lies West of the great dividing range.
1912
What was Maurice O’Shea’s Shiraz called?
Hunter Burgundy
What are the two major climatic features in NSW?
The Pacific Ocean and the Great Dividing Range
How does the Great Dividing Range effects the areas lying West and East of it?
Western regions such as the Big Rivers region and the Western plains are arid and progressively hotter as one moves North
Eastern / coastal zones such as Hunter, South Coast, and Northern rivers have high humidity and summer rainfall, particularly as you move North
What are Australias highest mountains? Where are they?
The Snowy Mountains
Southern New South Wales Zone
Break down the Hunter valley zone into GI and Subregions
Hunter Valley Zone >
Hunter GI >
Upper Hunter Valley, Broke Fordwich, and Pokolbin
Name 5 wineries that lie within the Pokolbin subregion?
Tyrrell’s
Brokenwood
Thomas Wines
Audrey Wilkinson
McWilliam’s Mt.Pleasant
What is the notable producer in the Upper Hunter Valley?
Penfolds
What is the climate of the Hunter Valley?
Sub Tropical - warm and wet
Lower Hunter valley averages over 20 inches of rain during the growing season
Where is the Upper Hunter Valley on the winkler scale?
Region IV
How do winemakers respond to the early autumn in Hunter Valley and storms that often arrive in the last week of January?
Harvesting early, ripe fruit character often develops early in the season, but pH levels are still relatively low
What are the varietals of the Hunter Valley?
Semillon, Shiraz, Verdelho, Chardonnay
What was once sold as “Hunter Riesling”?
Semillon
How is classic hunter Valley Semillon made?
Harvested early at low potential alcohol and low pH (2.9)
Vinified with commercial yeasts
No oak, No lees stirring
Quickly bottled with remaining CO2
Aged in bottle
Who made Hunter Valley’s first varietal bottling of Chardonnay?
What was it called?
Tyrrell’s
Vat 47 Pinot Chardonnay
What are the subregions of the central ranges zone?
Mudgee GI
Orange GI
Cowra GI
What was the first winery established in Mudgee GI?
Craigmoore
What grapes are grown in Mudgee GI?
Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, and Chardonnay
What is unique about the Orange GI?
Some of the highest elevation vineyards in Australia, starting at 600m and going up to over 1000m
Where are the richest basalt soils in the Central ranges GI?
Orange > Mount Canobolas
Which two Zones span most of the NSW coast line?
The South Coast Zone
The Northern Rivers Zone
