An Introduction to Australian Wine
Australian Wine Regions
Wine and Grapes
=====================
An Introduction to Australian Wine
=====================
If you enjoy drinking and learning about wine from all over the world, here is a list of ten things that you should know about Australian wine:
--------------------------------
1. Australia is the sixth largest producer of wine in the world (4.38 % of the world’s production in 2009). Australia is sixth in the world in wine production behind France, Italy, Spain, the United States and Argentina.
-------------------------------
2. Australia is the fourth largest exporter of wine around the world. Australia provides 16% of the wine imported into India, 17 % of the wine imported into the United States and it is the largest supplier of still wines to the United Kingdom.
-------------------------------
3. The per capita consumption of wine in Australia is 23.2 liters per year, which is slightly more than in the UK (20.7 liters) and more than twice as much as in the United States (8.96 liters).
-------------------------------
4. Australians prefer white wine to red wine although this preference is gradually changing. In 1986, 80 % of Australian wine consumption was white and recently that has declined to 60 %. Here in America, most of the Australian wine that we see for sale is red wine.
------------------------------
5. South Australia produces more than half of all of the wine produced in Australia and half of that is shipped to the United States. Important wine regions there are Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, Coonawarra, Padthaway, Riverland, Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley.
------------------------------
6. Other important regions are Hunter Valley and Tumbarumba in New South Wales, Yarra Valley in Victoria and Margaret River in Western Australia.
------------------------------
7. Australian wines are labeled similar to California wines with the grape variety listed first and then the region in which the grapes were grown.
------------------------------
8. Perhaps the best known Australian red wine grape variety is the Shiraz (Syrah) followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir.
------------------------------
9. The most widely planted white wine grapes are the Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.
-----------------------------
10. The Tasmanian Wine Zone is rapidly becoming a good source of premium wines made from cooler climate grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.
==============================================
THE MAJOR WINE REGIONS OF AUSTRALIA ARE SHOWN ON THE FOLLOWING MAP:
==============================================
The Wine Regions of Australia
=============================================
There are 27 wine zones and 63 Wine regions in Australia. They are located in four states - New South Wales, South Australia , Victoria and Western Australia. In addition, Tazmania is considered as a single wine zone and a single region. The Following table provides the details with the more popular regions highlighted in yellow.
==============================================
Australion Wine Zones and Wine Reions
Australian Wine Video
How To Read An Australian Wine Label
=================================================
Vintage – Optional, but must be at least 85 % if claimed. Multiple varieties can be claimed but must be at least 95 % and must be listed in descending order.
-------------------------------
Grape Variety – Optional, but must be at least 85 % if claimed. Multiple varieties can be claimed but they must be listed in descending order.
------------------------------
Region (GI) – Optional, but must be at least 85 % if claimed. Multiple GI claims are acceptable but they must be listed in descending order.
------------------------------
Brand Name – Must not be misleading
-----------------------------
Country of Origin – Mandatory
-----------------------------
Alcohol Content – Tolerance varies with the product
-----------------------------
Name and Address – Mandatory
----------------------------
The following link takes you to a sample Australian wine label.
===============================================
How to Read a Wine Label
Australian Wine Vintages
==========================================
It should be fairly obvious that Australian wine vintage ratings will not follow European or California wine vintage ratings since they are in different hemispheres and the Australian grapes are harvested six months earlier.
-------------------------------
However, much like in California, there are no really bad Australian vintages. To help you to understand which years produced better wines, I have provided a link to Robert Parker's chart of recent wine vintages.
--------------------------------
Please keep in mind that vintage ratings are only overall averages and in every vintage, some grape varieties performed better than others and so did some wine producers.
============================================
Link to a Wine Vintage Chart
More Wine Hubs by rjsadowski
- Top Ten Things You Should Know About Wine
If you are interested in learning about wine, here is a list of the top ten things that you should know. Topics covered are wine production, consumption, what to look for and other interesting facts. The most important thing to remember is that there - Champagne - It's Not Just for New Year's Eve
Around the holidays, advertisements for champagne begin to appear on television. That is because so many people want to celebrate the holidays and particularly New Year's Eve with a bottle of Champagne. However, you can enjoy champagne for any specia - French Wine Regions - Burgundy
The various regions of Burgundy are described as well as the grapes that are grown there. In addition, many of the greatest wines of Burgundy are listed along with my comments on those that I have tasted. Also included are fond recollections of a wee - An Introduction to French Wines
France is the largest producer of wines in the world. French wine regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and Beaujolais have become household words. French grape varieties such as cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, chardonnay, syrah and merlot are p - An Introduction to California Wines
California is one of the largest producers of wine in the world. If it was a country it would be fourth behind only France, Italy and Spain. Although in recent years, the prices for their top quality wines have skyrocketed, there are still many relat - An Introduction to New Zealand Wines
New Zealand is one of the fastest growing wine producing areas in the world. In the 1990s a British wine critic declared that New Zealand sauvignon blanc was - An Introduction to Hungarian Wines
The Romans brought grape vines to Hungary and by the 5th century there were extensive vineyards planted. In 2010, Hungary was the 16th largest producer of wine accounting for nearly 1.5% of the world's production. Hungary produces many different vari - An Introduction to Argentine Wines
Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world. Their wine consumptiom is considerably less than their production so they are major exporters of wine and they are the seventh largest importer of wine into the United States. With moderat
