Introducing Australian Wine
Some regions of the world have been producing wine for thousands of years, but Australia isn’t one of these. That doesn’t mean it’s not into wine, however – production started within fifty years of European contact with this continent. Before long, the country was full of vineyards, mostly concentrated in the south.
Over the course of the past century, the Australian wine industry has gotten noticed, and the results have been dramatic. At the beginning of the century, the entire continent was producing less than five million gallons every year. By the last quarter of the century, world attention had increased that figure to close to a hundred million gallons – Australia was on the map as far as wine went.
Australia’s large variety of climate types and soil conditions leads it to be favorable to cultivation of many different grape varieties and many types of wine. These climates run the range from cool and damp to very hot and arid, with some conditions coming very close to the climates in the best European wine regions. Some regions are irrigated to help them produce wine grapes.
There’s a lot of clay and limestone in Australian soils, but the specifics vary just as much as temperature and rainfall. This means that winemakers can choose the type of grape that best fits their local soil, to get the best quality grape and the best yield for that variety.
Australian wine spent a remarkably long time without notice from the rest of the world, and a set of judges in a world competition even insisted that the Victoria wines they’d just rated so highly couldn’t possible be Australian! That changed, however, when the first big boom occurred, and wine lovers everywhere found out why they shouldn’t ignore these wines. Production soared in the 1970s, and has been high ever since.
Another boom on the lower end of the price scale occurred recently – Australian imports were seen just about everywhere, offering decent, low priced wine in major retailers. These wines have fallen out of fashion somewhat, making them a little less popular now, but they still have a lot to offer. Take the time to check out some of the high quality wines Australia has to offer – you might be surprised.
After all, as the fourth largest wine exporter in the world, Australia has a lot to offer. Even major wine producers, like Spain, France and Italy, buy wines from this country’s producers. Known for its characteristics “GSM blends” – wines made from a blend of Mourvedre, Shiraz and Grenache, as well as many other types, Australia has been called the most powerful influence in wine today.
If you’ll be visiting Australia on your next holiday, don’t forget to have a look at some of the country’s excellent wine regions, and try a few wines. If you can’t make it to Australia, be sure to look at the options the next time you buy wine for your table. There are some really great wines waiting for you to find them.
For top Margaret River Wine, Howard Park’s single vineyard concept highlights the distinctive regional characteristics of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon from Western Australia’s leading grape growing regions
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