Australia
Australian Wine production is relatively young, there’s an old sea chantey about being bound for “South Australia” and it could describe the wine industry for the last decade or so. Australian wine along with New Zealand wine has come out of seemingly nowhere to become one of the new darlings of emerging wine producers. Famous for its Shiraz, other Australian wines worth looking out for include Semillons, Rieslings, Chardonnays and sparkling wines.
But don’t let the marketing fool you. Australia’s viticulture dates back to the 1840s and the country quickly became known for its fortified wines. The introduction of pressured fermentation vats and other technologies allowed winemakers in Australia to be able to ferment dryness into their wines. When French barrels began to make their way to the country, adding the desired complexity to the product, Australian wines began to gain the reputation they currently enjoy.
That’s not to say the Australian wine industry has not been without growing pains. Consolidation took its toll and in order to gain a 24% share of the market in the United Kingdom and a rapidly growing share of the lucrative U.S. wine market, wineries had to combine resources and today, 20 wine concerns account for about 85% of all wines made in Australia.
In recent years, Australia has definitely been in the right place at the right time, offering red, white and rose wines at a variety of price points, often in innovative packaging or blends, all backed by aggressive marketing, both on the air as well as in stores. The result of the consolidation and marketing blitz has saturated the market with Australian wines, many brilliant, others mediocre, but all priced to move.
Some of the Australian wines made by the big five makers are household names in Western markets, including Penfolds, Rosemount, Lindemans, Banrock Station, Jacob’s Creek and Yellow Tail.
While blending has been a key to Australia’s entry and dominance in the market, it has had an interesting effect on winemaking in the country. Many regional styles are beginning to gain favor in the market as well the blends. These are made by smaller companies and their premium wines are deservedly worth the attention. These include Barossa Valley Shiraz, Yarra Valley Pinot Noir and Clare Valley Riesling, among others.
Wine growing regions are divided into two distinct regions. The more tropical area of New South Wales and north Australia is the more extreme of the two, while South and West Australia have cooler weather that ranges between 77 and 86 degrees F. There are some notably cooler places as well in other growing regions, namely Eden Valley, Clare Valely, Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, and the Yarra Valley.
South Australia still account for the bulk of the growing area for grapes at 43%. New South Wales accounts for 24%, Victoria 23% and Western Australia 8%.
One thing’s for sure, Australia has become a wine producing powerhouse, becoming the fourth largest exporter of wine, producing 200 million gallons of wine annually. While Shiraz has achieved a fervent following of fans, there are also some other great Australian wines to enjoy, including Semillons,Rieslings and sparkling wines.