Wine regions of the world 2, Australia

Once the wines of Australia was the but of many a joke, the best thing to do with this wine is to lay it down , lay it down and avoid it, all that kind of thing . Now the wine industry and I think you can say wine industry is a vast economic thing. Some of the figures are amazing, Australia produces 760 million litres of wine a year for its export market not to mention the 500 million litres of wine a year for its domestic market, it has 160,000 hectares of designated wine regions, contributes $5.5 billion per year to the economy, accounts for a largest wine market in South Aisia. In fact the list goes on and on but this could make it a victim of its own success as it seems to be going up in price. Not so much a problem of lack of production but more to do with the currency and state of the world economy and that fact that Australia has not been to bother by it.  Therefore, with the Australian dollar value high the cost of the wine is more. But that being as it is I would say still go out and get some as it always is well worth the price.   

So mass produced product do not have the quality of a specialist vineyard in France you hear people say.  But the truth about almost any new world wine as they are called is that it is really good for the reason that it does not necessarily constrict its self to such rigid rules such as the wines of France. Giving them selves the freedom to experiment blend and use the Terroir, climate soil type and topography to you and me, to create some truly excellent wines.  

So where did it all start, the first vine was reported to have been brought to the country by a Governor  Phillip from the Cape of Good Hope back in 1788.  But the first vines failed and it was not till the 1820s Australian wine was available for sale domestically and 1822 a Gorgory Blaxland exported the first wine. In the 1830s wine production grew and more regions were established. The problems that the early wine makers had were the fact that growing grapes and then making wine is not an exact science. Unlike the long established wine traditions of Europe this was all new to them so it became a matter of trial and error to build up experience and get it right.  

My favourite story is that  in 1873 at the Vienna Exhibition the French judges walked out in protest. After a blind tasting when the wine was revealed to be Australian they refused to believe it. As the wine was of such a good quality that it must be French. From then they have been producing more and more wines of quality that are now internationally renowned throughout the world. 

 For me the main characteristic of almost all Australian wine is its intensity of flavour and fruitiness.  Intense reds and deep oaky whites are to me the thing that I will always think of when I think of the wine.  That is not to say they are not unsubtle, you get a full range of almost every type of grape variety you can imagine.  The best way to sum up an Australian wine is that it is a big wine from a big country.  They go well with almost every thing and I have in all my tastings never really been disappointed by one.  Now to sit here and say that is one thing and I am sure that  at some point I was disappointed , but I can not think of any time that I was.

The strange thing is that I can think of any real regions.  You have the Barossa Valley, hunter valley, Coonawarra, and so on, 60 regions in all.  But I think of family names rather than regions. Names such as Hardy, Lindeman, Mc Williams, Penfold, Angove, Brown Brothers, and Wynn.  Now the reason for this is that such estates are so large that they are almost the size of some wine regions so it is not surprising when you think about it.

Most if not all of the wine production is done in the south of the county. In the south of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.  And most of it in the southwest Victoria or New South Wales.  Now most of the wines produced will have the grape and the region as well as the vineyard or family estate name. In fact, the labels are easy to understand and are what they say they are.

So to sum up Australian wine, I cannot remember being disappointed by a bottle, I do not think I can say it any clearer than that.