Australian Wine
More than a century ago fine wines started being produced in Australia. As long ago as the Vienna Exhibition of 1873 the 'Bruce Juice' up for tasting (actually Hermitage from Victoria) won first prize. When the European judges were informed that the wine was Australian, they thought again. Such wine could only be French, they insisted - and gave first prize to someone else.
Nowadays the Australian product is accepted internationally as excellent quality. In Britain, French wines were pushed out of the ten most popular wine brands for the first time in 2003, with Australian labels holding seven out of ten places. A US brand was in first position but the Aussies are confident they will soon be dominant in this key international wine market. The US and Canada are also getting to know the pleasures and keen pricing of Australian wines through a strategy of aggressive marketing. Much time and effort has been invested to make sure the world knows the Aussies are good for more than a beer and a barbie. At home, the market for wine is as big as for beer and far more prestigious. One West Australian millionaire even flew a full symphony orchestra from London to his vineyard south of Perth, for an open-air concert to help proclaim his establishment's achievements in winemaking.
Driving tours of winegrowing districts are ideal for getting to know Australia's regions and their wines. The major brands have cellars and vineyards around the country, in the largest vine-growing areas, where restaurants, accommodations picnic and barbeque areas as well as children's playgrounds are sometimes provided, encouraging visitors to linger. However, there are many interesting wines are produced by family-run or boutique wineries which are a pleasure to visit, and which often have excellent restaurants as well. The cellar door is not as cheap as most of the large retail bottle shops, but far more fun to visit if you like to see the countryside, and meet the winemakers.
The main grape-growing regions - the Barossa, Coonawarra and Clare Valley districts of South Australia, the Hunter Valley northwest of Sydney, the Rutherglenn area of Northern Victoria, and the Margaret River and Swan River Valley of South-Western Australia - produce wines to please even the most pernickety European palates. The wine labels are similar to those of France - Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.
However, each of Australia's wine-producing regions has built its reputation on just a few styles. So it is best to do your homework before you taste and buy. Most styles are robust compared to the wines of Europe, and can be a surprise to the nose and tastebuds.
In Australia, appreciation of the quality and quantity of the local product is such that it naturally dominates the domestic market. Table wines in the Australia-invented 'bladder' box are so popular that some local 'grog shops' and 'bottle-Os' seem to be constructed of them. Unpretentious but quaffable plonk is certainly as good value for money as local table wines available in France, Germany, Spain or Italy, though it is not as cheap due to high taxes. Australian sparkling wines, however, can be an inexpensive delight at a third of the price of the French original, and a bottle of passable bubbly can be had for close to the price of a bottle of table wine, or even a sixpack of beer.
