Australian Wine Guide

 

Australia is one of the greatest wine exporter country in the world and the success model for the New World wine-producing countries.

The continent own many different landscapes and climates which gives the country a lot of regional specificities and terroirs. But the big deserts inland restrain the growth of vines, so the vineyards are in coastal regions with a Mediterranean climate. The most important wine regions are south-east of Australia.

Near the equator line, the conditions are warmer only tempered by the oceanic influences or the elevation of the sites. Nowadays, Australian growers want to settle in more cool regions like the Tasmanian Island. Indeed, the vines have to be irrigated but the water restrictions keep back the wine industry's expansion. The recent droughts has forced the sector to research ways to optimize water consumption in vineyards.

History of the wines wines in Australia

The first vines were brought in Australia in 1788 by the English botanist James Busby who planted 300 vines stock in the Botanic Garden of Sydney. They are seen as the source of all the Australian vines.

With the project Vision 2025 beginning thirty years ago, the wine industry is booming and the country is carving its place in the world market. Nowadays, the export of wine is more important than the domestic consumption. The sector use modern technologies to produce high quality wines and seduce the foreign consumers. The country is on the cutting edge of wine-making innovations and vineyard management.

The wine industry distinguish the growers to the winemakers. This sector is ruled by the big five wine companies: Southcorp Wines, Beringer Blass, Mc Guigan Simeon Wines, Hardy Wines Company and Orlando Wyndham. But let's not forget the smaller producers like Yalumba or Tyrell's who are the one developing the potential of the wine regions.

Wine regions in Australia

The wine-growing regions are inside different States in Australia. South-Australia is the most important, with famous areas like Barossa Valley or Clare Valley.

In the New South Wales, there is a lot of emerging wine regions like Hunter Valley and Canberra District. Victoria and Tasmania offer a great variety of wine style thanks to their cooler climate. In Western-Australia, only Margaret River is an important wine sector.

Grape varieties in Australia 

The most common grape variety is Syrah called in Australia Shiraz. The classic red wines are strong, full-bodied, with intense flavors of ripe fruit and woodland notes.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are popular grapes, used in making Bordeaux Blend. Pinot Noir is more and more cultivated to answer the international demand.

Chardonnay is the most common white variety. The winemakers are beginning to make high quality complex wine with great ageing potential.

Semillon is the star of the Hunter Valley, used in the exquisite white wines. The blend Semillon Sauvignon Blanc create tropical wines, Australia speciality.

The country is making great aromatic wines like the Eden Valley's Riesling which take a stand against the European style.

There is too a few production of dessert wines and sparkling wines which are seducing more and more foreign consumers.

Our wines from Australia