AUSTRALIA

Question 1

What are the growing regions tempered by?

Answer 1

Proximity to the South or Indian ocean or the Murray River system

Adelaide Hills and Eden Valley-Cooled by altitude

Question 2

What can cause problems for grape growing?

Answer 2

Drought
Bush fires

Question 3

Principal grape variety of either color?

Answer 3

Shiraz

Question 4

Shiraz characteristics?

Answer 4

Hot regions-Hunter Valley and warm regions-Barossa Valley- Full bodied, intense fruit, earthy, spicy notes, and leather with age

Cooler regions- Geelong and Heathcote- Leaner and more peppery

Question 5

What does Shiraz add to blends wit Cab Sauv?

Answer 5

Softness and body, similar to Merlot in Bordeaux

Question 6

Cab Sauv characteristics?

Answer 6

Darker, firmer tannins, higher acid then Shiraz, ripe black fruit characters, underpinned toasty oak notes

Coonawarra and Margaret River

Question 7

Merlot characteristics?

Answer 7

Found in blended wines alongside Cab Sauv to add body and fleshy plummy fruit

Question 8

Pinot Noir characteristics?

Answer 8

Best come from cool or moderate sites such as Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania

Med body, med alcohol, med-high acid, cherry/strawberry flavor

Question 9

Grenache, Petit Verdot and Mataro (Mourvedre) characteristics?

Answer 9

Do well in hot regions as they are late ripening varieties

Question 10

Most planted white wine grape?

Answer 10

Chardonnay

Question 11

Chardonnay characteristics?

Answer 11

Often a blend of fruit from different regions, produced unoaked with peachy flavours or with oak chips or staves to add hints of toast/vanilla

High quality-Cool moderate regions (Adelaide Hills, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley) and warm regions (Margaret River)- Balanced with fresh, vibrant fruit, subtle flavours of careful use of lees, Malolactic conversion, oak maturation

Question 12

Sauv B characteristics?

Answer 12

Adelaide Hills is the benchmark for the variety

Concentrated passionfruit flavours with refreshing high acid

Question 13

Semillon characteristics?

Answer 13

Hunter Valley is the classic region- Harvest early with low sugar levels and high acid. Contact with oxygen is kept to a minimum and inert vessels are used for fermentation and storage
Wines are light in alcohol, almost neutral in flavor when first bottled, but develop flavours of honey/toast with btl age
Best can age 20+ years

In the west-Much more herbaceous style

Question 14

Riesling characteristics?

Answer 14

-Pronounced citrus fruit aromas and flavors in youth that develop rapidly into toast, honey, petrol notes as wines age
-Wines are unoaked with high levels of acid, usually dry or slightly off dry, but some sweet wines are also made

-Eden and Clare Valley-South Australia
-Tasmania and Great Southern region of Western Australia -Wines less citrusy and more floral

Question 15

What super zone covers all the Gl’s in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland?

What does it allowing?

Answer 15

South Eastern Australia Zone

Allowing the blending of grapes or wines from across most of Australia’s wine regions

Question 16

Wines part of the South Eastern Australia Zone are able to source fruit from what 3 fertile, irrigated vineyards?

Answer 16

-Riverland in South Australia
-Murray-Darling in Victoria
-Riverina in New South Wales

These regions produce high yields of healthy grapes, but lack flavour concentration from those of high quality areas

Question 17

What does Riverina specialize in?

Answer 17

Botrytized wines made from Semillon

This region has autumn morning mists and fog which develop noble rot

Question 18

Where is the majority of Australia’s wine produced?

Answer 18

South Australia
Vineyards are concentrated in the SE of the state

Question 19

Heartland of fine wine production?

Answer 19

Barossa Valley in South Australia

Question 20

Climate of Barossa Valley?

Grapes grown?

Answer 20

Warm, dry

Old bush vines produce outstanding Shiraz, Cab Sauv, Grenache

Question 21

Classic Barossa Valley Shiraz characteristics?

Answer 21

Full bodied, soft tannins, ripe black fruit, American oak
As it ages, softens and develops leather and spice

Question 22

Most notable white in Barossa Valley?

Answer 22

Semillon- Increasingly made in a fresh unoaked style

Question 23

Wines labelled Barossa can come from where?

Where can they source fruit from?

Answer 23

The Barossa zone

Fruit sourced from Barossa Valley and Eden Valley

Question 24

Eden Valley climate?

What grapes is Eden Valley in South Australia known for?

Answer 24

Cool, moderate, varies with altitude

In cooler vineyards-Outstanding Riesling- Intense lime, grapefruit aromas, steely character. Best can age, showing toasty and marmalade characteristics

Shiraz, Chard, Cab Sauv

Question 25

Clare Valley climate?

Answer 25

Warm climate, tempered by cool afternoon breezes Nights are cold Many vineyards planted at an altitude of 300 m to 400 m, some as high as 570 m

Question 26

Grapes in Clare Valley?

Answer 26

Riesling is the specialty- Intense citrus, lime aromas, high acid With age-Honey and toast Shiraz- Fragrant, powerful, structured Cab Sauv

Question 27

Adelaide Hills climate?

Answer 27

Moderate All vineyards planted above 400 M in altitude Rainfall mainly in winter Soils have limited water holding capacity- Irrigation often used during growing season

Question 28

Adelaide Hills grapes?

Answer 28

Fresh Sauv B Elegant Chard- Natural high acid, pronounced citrus and peach aromas PN- For still reds and for blending with Chard for sparkling

Question 29

Mclaren Vale Climate?

Answer 29

Afternoon breezes from nearby ocean temper the warm climate

Question 30

Mclaren Vale grapes?

Answer 30

Largely produces reds from Shiraz, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Grenache Intense flavours with dark fruit aromas and soft ripe tannins Some old vine Shiraz and Grenache used to create wines with depth and complexity

Question 31

Coonawarra climate? Famous soil?

Answer 31

-Under the influence from the cold currents of the Antarctic, the maritime climate is moderate -Cloud cover moderates summer temps Red terra rossa soil over a limestone subsoil

Question 32

Coonawarra grapes?

Answer 32

Cab Sauv dominates- Concentrated, structures with cassis, menthol, eucalyptus aromas, best age well Shiraz, Merlot, Chard

Question 33

Where are some of the coolest vineyard locations on the Australian mainland?

Answer 33

Victoria

Question 34

Victoria climate?

Answer 34

Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay- Benefit from ocean breezes, giving conditions cool enough to grow high quality PN and Chard and grapes for sparkling

Question 35

What provides a range of altitudes and aspects in Victoria? High altitude site grapes? Regions on lower slopes?

Answer 35

The Great Dividing Range -High altitude sites (Macedon Ranges and Upper Goulburn)- Elegant PN and Chard and aromatic Riesling and Sauv B -Lower slopes- Later ripening black varieties, Shiraz and Cab Sauv- Often freshed and lighter than those from Hotter regions

Question 36

Yarra Valley climate?

Answer 36

Cool to moderate and maritime Varied region with wide range of altitude and aspects

Question 37

Specialty of Yarra Valley?

Answer 37

Specialty is Pinot Noir- Rich in fruit(Strawberry, plum, dark cherry, tannins are ripe/soft, careful oak handling adds complexity Excellent quality Sparkling Some high quality table wines Chard, Shiraz, Cab Sauv as well- Not s much body as wines from warmer regions