New South Wales

Question 1

What is Australia’s oldest continually operating winery?
When was it started?
By whom?

Answer 1

Wyndham Estate (until 2015)/ Dalwood Estate (since 2016) in Hunter Valley
George Wyndham
1828

Question 2

Who is considered the father of Australian wine?
What did he do?

Answer 2

James Busby
Brought vine cuttings from Europe in 1831 and split them between his Hunter valley estate and the Sydney botanic garden

Question 3

Did Phylloxera effect NSW?

Answer 3

Sort of… it arrived in Sydney in 1884, but was effectively contained and never reached many areas such as Hunter Valley

Question 4

What project allowed for grape production in the Riverina region of Australia?
When?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What was Maurice O’Shea’s Shiraz called?

Answer 5

Hunter Burgundy

Question 6

What are the two major climatic features in NSW?

Answer 6

The Pacific Ocean and the Great Dividing Range

Question 7

How does the Great Dividing Range effects the areas lying West and East of it?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What are Australias highest mountains? Where are they?

Answer 8

The Snowy Mountains
Southern New South Wales Zone

Question 9

Break down the Hunter valley zone into GI and Subregions

Answer 9

Hunter Valley Zone >
Hunter GI >
Upper Hunter Valley, Broke Fordwich, and Pokolbin

Question 10

Name 5 wineries that lie within the Pokolbin subregion?

Answer 10

Tyrrell’s
Brokenwood
Thomas Wines
Audrey Wilkinson
McWilliam’s Mt.Pleasant

Question 11

What is the notable producer in the Upper Hunter Valley?

Answer 11

Penfolds

Question 12

What is the climate of the Hunter Valley?

Answer 12

Sub Tropical - warm and wet
Lower Hunter valley averages over 20 inches of rain during the growing season

Question 13

Where is the Upper Hunter Valley on the winkler scale?

Answer 13

Region IV

Question 14

How do winemakers respond to the early autumn in Hunter Valley and storms that often arrive in the last week of January?

Answer 14

Harvesting early, ripe fruit character often develops early in the season, but pH levels are still relatively low

Question 15

What are the varietals of the Hunter Valley?

Answer 15

Semillon, Shiraz, Verdelho, Chardonnay

Question 16

What was once sold as “Hunter Riesling”?

Answer 16

Semillon

Question 17

How is classic hunter Valley Semillon made?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Who made Hunter Valley’s first varietal bottling of Chardonnay?
What was it called?

Answer 18

Tyrrell’s
Vat 47 Pinot Chardonnay

Question 19

What are the subregions of the central ranges zone?

Answer 19

Mudgee GI
Orange GI
Cowra GI

Question 20

What was the first winery established in Mudgee GI?

Answer 20

Craigmoore

Question 21

What grapes are grown in Mudgee GI?

Answer 21

Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, and Chardonnay

Question 22

What is unique about the Orange GI?

Answer 22

Some of the highest elevation vineyards in Australia, starting at 600m and going up to over 1000m

Question 23

Where are the richest basalt soils in the Central ranges GI?

Answer 23

Orange > Mount Canobolas

Question 24

Which two Zones span most of the NSW coast line?

Answer 24

The South Coast Zone
The Northern Rivers Zone

Question 25

What is notable about the climate in Hastings River GI?

Answer 25

It is HOT, on the Winkler scale it rates as V
Sees the most rainfall during growing season of any region in Australia

Question 26

What region in Australia is know for producing wine from a grape called Chambourcin?

Answer 26

Shoalhaven Coast GI > South Coast Zone > NSW

Question 27

What grape is the Southern Highlands GI known for?

Answer 27

Tempranillo

Question 28

What are the Big Rivers of the Big Rivers Zone?

Answer 28

The Murray and the Murrumbidgee

Question 29

What is the top producing Zone in Australia?

Answer 29

Big Rivers Zone in NSW

Question 30

Who is the production leader of the Big Rivers Zone?

Answer 30

Riverina GI

Question 31

Where is Casella wines?
What is their most notable brand?

Answer 31

Riverina GI > Big Rivers Zone > NSW
Yellow Tail

Question 32

What is the Botrytis affected wine made by deBortoli in Riverina?

Answer 32

Noble One Botrytis Semillon

Question 33

Which GI surrounds Australia’s capital? Where is it?

Answer 33

Canberra District GI. Within the Great dividing range in Southern New South Whales Zone.

Question 34

Where did Edgar Riek plant his first vines?

Answer 34

In Canberra District GI in the shores of lake George

Question 35

Where is Clonakilla? Who started it? When?

Answer 35

In Canberra district GI. John Kirk. 1971.

Question 36

What Australian GI is often compared to Cote Rotie? Who makes a benchmark example?

Answer 36

Canbarra District GI. Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier.

Question 37

Which GI in Southern New South Whales is best known for sparkling wine?

Answer 37

Tumbarumba GI at the foot of the snowy mountains