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Section 8 – Australia, New Zealand & South Africa
Overview of the Regions, Wines & Grapes
 
Australia
Introduction
Australia has become a very successful model of what a new world winemakingcountry can be. Its wineries use the most modern equipment and techniques(many invented or pioneered by the Australians themselves) to produce a lot ofwine with mass appeal. Also, Australia has a very clear strategy and is intent onbecoming the number one exporter of wines in the world – and it’s well on its wayto succeeding. Australian’s have been very savvy when it comes to marketingand to finding what it is that people want in a new world wine, sometimes, somecritics say, at the expense of character and
terroir 
.Most of the wine made in the country is dominated by a handful of hugecorporations that own many wineries. Australia is a country about the same sizeas the US, but has around the same population as California. So if you are agreat corporation and you want to sell the local market is not enough. This is whya great part of the focus has been on exports and on consistency. Pound forpound (or gallon for gallon) Australian wine at the lower end of the pricespectrum is hard to beat. Australians also stretched the boundaries of brandingwhen it comes to wine, having succeeded to quickly make some Australian winesinto a household name. That is not to say, however, that all Australian wine isbland, mass-produced stuff. There are many very interesting regions with verywell defined
terroirs 
.
 
Labeling
The equivalent of the US’s AVAs in Australia are called GIs or GeographicalIndications. They work in much the same way. They define a region and appearon the label but don’t require anything else from the producer. Australian labelinglaw is also very easy to remember:
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GI: If a GI appears on the label 85% of the grapes must’ve come from theGI named.
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Grape Variety: 85% of the wine must be made from the grape name thatappears on the label.
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Vintage: 85% of the wine in the bottle must be from the vintage thatappears on the label.The country is divided into zones which correspond with the states. Within thestates are smaller zones, and inside those might be even smaller regions. Themost important wine producing regions are in the southeastern half of the countryand they are South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. All these zones fallwithin a ‘Super Zone’ called South Eastern Australia. Most wines from Australiaare labeled as South Eastern Australia and are blends made from across thecountry to ensure consistency. Most vineyards in Australia are concentrated onthe southern coastal areas. The rest of the country is too hot for viticulture. Inlandareas around rivers, such as Riverina and Riverland provide the grapes for themore generic blends. The climate in Australia is generally warm, but there aresome cooler wine growing regions that are starting to become very important.Australian wine has also closely identified with one grape variety: Shiraz. Shirazis the same grape as the Syrah of the Rhone Valley in France. FollowingAustralia’s lead, many new world countries have attached their name to a singlegrape – as we’ll see, some have been more successful than others!
Regions
Some of Australia’s most important zones and regions are listed below.
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South Australia:The most important zone, most large wineries are based here. This zone isfurther subdivided into several regions, of which we’ll look at: Barossa, Clare& Eden Valleys, Adelaide Hills and Coonawarra. Most of the wine productionoccurs on its eastern side, where it borders other important wine producingregions.
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The Barossa Valley: This area is world renowned for its rich, ripe andsupple Shiraz. This is arguably Australia’s most prestigious wine regionand many of its most famous wines come from here. Barossa hasbecome almost synonymous with Shiraz. Other grape varieties makegreat wine here, Cabernet Sauvignon being one of them.
 
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The Clare Valley and the Eden Valley: Both of these are cooler winegrowing regions up in the hills and they both specialize in one grape:Riesling. The Rieslings made here are generally dry, fairly crisp andelegant.
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Adelaide Hills Region: This region is famous for its Chardonnays. It is acooler region (also at some elevation) and the wines show that in theircrispness and elegance.
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Coonawarra: This region is located in southern South Australia, in aregion called the Limestone Coast. It has a special type of soil called‘terra rossa’, meaning red earth, that consists of a top layer of red earth(high iron content) and a limestone subsoil. The most famous grapegrown here is the Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are full-bodiedbut very elegant, with very interesting aromas and good acidity.
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Victoria: Victoria was the most important zone in Australia for a long time untilPhylloxera struck the region. It remained a quiet place while Barossa took thelead. Now the region is coming back to the forefront, producing manyoutstanding wines. Victoria is the only region of Australia to have suffered awidespread Phylloxera outbreak.
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The Yarra Valley: Yarra is one of Australia’s most famous coolerclimate regions. This area is world renowned for its fruity Pinot Noirsand excellent Chardonnays. They also produce some of the bettersparkling wines in Australia.
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Mornington Peninsula: This thin, long peninsula is also a cool climateregion on the south of the zone. Famous for its Pinot Noirs andChardonnays, this area is relatively new, but is already making a greatname for itself.
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Rutherglen: This is an extremely hot region in northern Victoria. Thesefamous wines are made from the Muscat grape that produces many ofthe world’s famous dessert wines in France, Italy and all over theworld. Here they are called Rutherglen Muscats. This wine is producedby allowing the grapes to dry up on the vine and then pressing them toextract the syrupy juice. Once the fermentation gets going and the rightamount of residual sugar is left in the wine, spirit is added to arrest thefermentation. The sweet wine then is aged in hot sheds, concentratingthe juice and adding the aromas and flavors of oxidation to the wine.
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New South Wales: New South Wales is an area whose importance may be indecline. Its most famous area is the Hunter Valley.
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The Hunter Valley: The Hunter Valley is an extremely hot region. Thisarea has long been famous for its wines made from the Semillon grapeand for its Shiraz.
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londoner31

Very thorough report! I love the visual aids, they quite amp up your piece. I recommend seeing the vineyards for yourself on this wine tour that my mate went on last week and thought it was absolutely fantastic! Here's the link: http://www.isango.com/australia-tours...

reply03 / 25 / 2010
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