Australian Wines

Amarone, Barolo, Burg Layer Schlosskapelle, Chianti Classico, Cristal Champagne, Cloudy Bay Wines, Dom Perignon Rose, Murfatlar, Thelema,
Pure Wines, Haut Brion, Chateau d'Yquem, Talbot, German Wines Dornfelder, Rothschild, Petrus, St Claire Wines, Peter Lehmann Excellence Range,
Ice Wine, Eiswein, Vosne Romanee, Wine Tasting Events, Fine Wine Cornwall, Classic Wine Cornwall, Wine Cruise

Australian Wine
Australia is the sixth largest country in the world in area and is now one of the largest wine producing countries in the world. It produced just under 35% of the wine the UK consumed in 2005. There are over 1,100 wineries in Australia and wine is produced in many regions that are widely spread across the southern half of the country. Each of these regions has different climate and soils and should be considered to be as distinctly different as Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Australia aggressively expanded its wine grape planting and production in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Australia had approximately 366,000 acres under vine by the end of 2001. While white grapes dominated (57%) of the acreage as late as the 1996-97 growing season, the percentage of red grape varieties as a percentage of recent plantings is overwhelming.
Australia is one of the most innovative wine regions in the world. There is a freedom from bureaucracy and regulation that is unheard of in most older wine producing countries. Most of the vineyards are in the cooler southern part of the country and most particularly along the southeast coast. The most successful grape variety is the Shiraz (known as Syrah, in many parts of the world). Shiraz accounts for over 37% of the red grape acreage. Depending on the growing region and the winemaking style, Australian Shiraz can range from light and fruity to big, bold and very long lived. The other noble grape varieties of the world are also grown (including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Semillon and Riesling).
While winemaking started in Australia in the early 1800's the quality of the wines was poor until stainless steel tanks and temperature controlled fermentation came into use in the late 1950's. When modern techniques were introduced, the quality of the wines began to improve almost immediately.
Like many new world wine producers, Australian wineries generally designate the grape variety of a wine on the label. The laws require that wines with varietal labeling must contain at least 85% of that variety. Australia has been the primary producing country to market wines with the names of two grape varieties on the label (i.e. - Semillon/Chardonnay). In two grape blends, the variety that represents the greatest portion of the blend is named first

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