Great Wine Made Simple - Andrea Immer [90]
Australia
Yabbies, leatherneck, rocket, and capsicums—dinner, I was told, when I arrived in Australia. And here I thought we spoke the same language. Actually, it turned out to be tasty and, on translation, familiar: freshwater prawns, fish, arugula, and bell peppers, respectively. (The kangaroo, on the other hand, was a new taste for me, but at least I knew it by name!)
They say behind every great Australian wine—and there are plenty of them—is a lot of beer. The land down under is a paradise of sunshine for grape vines, hence the lush, bold, exotically fruit-forward style of Australian wines—and the mean thirst that can develop after a long day of manning the fermenters during vintage (the brew of choice is Cooper’s; Foster’s is export stuff, mate). And yet, thanks to maritime breezes and higher altitudes in some areas, Australia enjoys impressive success with all of the Big Six grapes, including those with cool-climate affinity—Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. Add to that its very own blockbuster signature varietal, Shiraz (while it hails from France’s Rhône Valley as Syrah, the Aussies’ version put it on the consumer wine map), and some one-of-a-kind “stickies” (Australian for dessert wines), and you get one of the most smashing success stories in the wine world. Australia is hot.
Although grapes are grown and wine made in each of Australia’s seven states (including the island of Tasmania), the majority comes from the state of South Australia, followed by New South Wales and Victoria. Western Australia also makes small amounts of excellent wine. The industry is dominated by a few large firms that own many wineries and brands, among them Southcorp Wines, Beringer Blass, Orlando-Jacob’s Creek, and BRL Hardy. As in the United States, boutique wineries and expensive, luxury bottlings have also come on strong in the last decade. But the wines at the other end of the spectrum also get a lot of attention. It is deserved. I believe that at present, Australia is one of the wine world’s quality and quantity leaders for everyday-priced wines—popular varietals and proprietary blends that are tasty, well-made, and affordable as an everyday dinner wine. Since Chile is still working to get there, and much of California, Italy, and France seem to have stopped trying, here’s hoping it stays that way.
READING THE AUSTRALIAN WINE LABEL
Varietal The wine must contain a minimum of 80 percent of the named varietal; a blend of named varietals, such as Cabernet/Shiraz, must list the percentages of each.
Vintage 95 percent of the grapes must be from the listed year.
Region At least 85 percent of the wine must come from the listed source.
“Reserve Bin” and Bin Numbers Traditional designations for specific proprietary wines—for example, Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay, Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz.
One of Australia’s price advantages is plentiful land, and blending of grapes from far-flung vineyard sources is quite common. For example, the origin that you commonly see listed on value wines, South Eastern Australia, means the grapes could come from anywhere in the states of South Australia, New South Wales, or Victoria—a huge area. Consequently, South Eastern Australia doesn’t connote a signature wine style or grape variety, but many of Australia’s famous regions do. Here is a brief summary, by state, of the most famous Australian regions:
New Zealand
Sauvignon Blanc, grown in the Marlborough region on the South Island, is New Zealand’s signature varietal. Although all of the Big Six are produced there, her other specialties are also cool-climate grapes—Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Noir, which is fast becoming New Zealand’s other signature wine (the Central Otago district is emerging