Australia Flashcards
(20 cards)
Style (premium traditional): Australia
medium (+) to high acidity
medium alcohol
Body: medium (-) to medium (+)
flavour intensity: medium (-) to medium (+) (depending on style and time on lees)
lighter styles: softly fruity (citrus fruit and apple)
fuller bodied: typically prominent autolytic notes
Style (tank, transfer, carbonation): Australia
- fruity, some intensely so, anything from citrus fruits to riper peach and apricot fruits
- grapey fruit of Moscato
- little or no autolytic character (just in some transfer wines)
- medium to medium (+) acidity
- dry to medium-sweet
- low to medium alcohol
- light to medium body
Style: Sparkling Shiraz: Australia
deep in colour: from ruby to garnet
medium (-) to medium acidity
medium to high alcohol
medium but ripe and soft tannins, balanced by dosage
common 20 g/L of residual sugar to balance the effects of tannins and high alcohol
medium- to full-bodied
medium to pronounced intensity
distinctly fruity or more savoury complexity from extended oak maturation prior to second fermentation
Autolytic notes tend not to be overt as they are masked by other flavours
Late disgorged: rare
Style: Australian Prosecco: Australia. Who makes, quality?
medium (+) acidity
medium alcohol
light to medium body
delicate white peach flavours
off-dry to medium-dry
predominantly made by small producers with a focus on quality
quality is good to very good
Style: Pet Nat Australia
- can be white, rosé or red
- can be quite cloudy
- from slightly sparkling to fully sparkling
- usually dry
- medium (+) acidity
- medium alcohol
- Body from light to medium (+)
- flavour intensity: medium to pronounced
- often yeasty characteristics with fruit flavours
- many small often natural winemakers in several regions from several varieties
- made in small quantities
Regions for traditional method
+ yields/fruit prices
traditional method:
* cooler regions of Australia especially in Tasmania
* also in regions such as Yarra Valley (led by Domaine Chandon),
Adelaide Hills
* alpine regions of Victoria and New South Wales on higher altitude sites
Yields are lower than in regions contributing to higher prices
Tasmania: temperature, regions, production lvl and quality overall
Leading region for HQ traditional method wines
History: Mid-1980s, joint venture between Tasmanian Heemskerk and Champagne Louis Roederer
Small production, but very successful in quality
2020: 36% of total grapes used for sparkling wine
Climate variation on the island:
North coast: Tamar Valley (warmer, sheltered) vs. Piper’s River (cooler)
Southern Tasmania: Cooler, except for warm Coal Valley
Coldest areas: Colder than Champagne, but higher sunlight intensity
Larger producers source fruit from different island locations for necessary volumes
Blending cooler and warmer regions for balanced wines
Subzones: Considered creating named subzones, but prefer marketing wines as Tasmanian.
hazards Tasmania
spring frosts
high rainfall
Coulure in the early season and botrytis later on can be problematic
Regions for inexpensive wines in Australia:
Riverland
Riverina
Murray-Darling
and labelled ‘South Eastern Australia’
accounts for majority of sparkling produced in Australia
water availability and nutrient availability for inexpensive wines in Australia, yields and harvest
irrigation essential
mechanisation standard
fruit is picked early:
lower potential alcohol
retain acidity
avoid over-ripe fruit notes
Yields here are two to three times as high as in cool areas and prices are around one-quarter of the prices for the fruit that goes into super-premium wines.
Grape growing options: premium (Tasmania):
Leading region for high-quality traditional method wines
Small production, but highly successful in terms of quality
Varied island climate:
Tamar Valley and Piper’s River (north coast) are close geographically
Tamar Valley is much warmer and more sheltered from the cold Southern Ocean
Tamar Valley harvests ~2 weeks earlier than Piper’s River
Grape growing options: inexpensive - Shiraz and rest
- **.Shiraz
- Exception to typical sparkling wine rules (cool sites, early picking)
- Grown in warm climates: Central Victoria, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale
- Style needs richness and intensity of flavour
- Grapes picked at same time as for still wines
-
Yields:
- High for inexpensive wines
- Moderate for premium and above
-
Nutrient & water management:
- Irrigation is essential
-
Canopy management & harvest:
- Mechanisation is standard
- Fruit picked early to:
- Lower potential alcohol
- Retain acidity
- Avoid overripe notes
- Yields: 2–3× higher than in cool areas
- Fruit prices: \~¼ of those for super-premium sparkling wine grapes
Australia: overall which winemaking options are used
wide range using all methods – traditional, transfer, tank, carbonation and ancestral method.
Australia TRADITIONAL METHOD winemaking options, production model,
- Styles: Non-vintage, vintage, prestige cuvée, rosé
-
Production practices:
- Most large producers press grapes in Tasmania
- Juice or base wine refrigerated and transported to mainland wineries for second fermentation (due to specialised equipment)
-
Smaller producers complete all production on the island
- Small volumes allow use of manual methods or limited machinery (e.g. gyropalettes)
- Most large producers press grapes in Tasmania
- Malolactic conversion: Optional, depends on style
-
Blending:
- Larger producers source fruit from various Tasmanian regions
- Blending cooler and warmer sites for balance and necessary volume
-
Lees time:
- Premium producers inspired by Champagne in lees ageing (but not bound by its rules)
Lees ageing: - Top producers age wines on lees for 3+ years
- ‘Late disgorged’ category emerging (6+ years) — e.g. Jansz, Arras
- Premium producers inspired by Champagne in lees ageing (but not bound by its rules)
TANK METHOD/ TRANSFER / CARBONATION
Brands
Grapes (varieties, sourcing)
Price and Quality
-
Inexpensive to mid-priced sparkling wines:
- Sourced from cool, moderate, and warm climate regions
- Often blends from multiple regions; some have regional designations
- Large brands may include grapes from warmer, irrigated inland regions (e.g. Riverina)
-
Production methods:
- Transfer method, tank method, and carbonation
-
Varieties used:
- Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Moscato, Glera/Prosecco
-
Main brands:
- Brown Brothers, Jacob’s Creek, Yellowglen
SPARKLING SHIRAZ winemaking options:
-
Production similar to still red wines
- Includes malolactic conversion
- May or may not be oak matured
-
Quality levels & methods:
- Very good to outstanding: Traditional method
- Acceptable to good: Transfer method, tank, or carbonation
- Varieties: Sparkling reds made from other grape varieties as well
-
Ageing:
- Usually released after 1–2 years
- Some late disgorged versions with extended lees ageing available
SPARKLING MOSCATO: style, quality, winegrowing, players, market:
low in alcohol
medium acidity
off-dry to sweet
fruity in style with classic Moscato grapey flavours
acceptable to good quality levels
grapes grown in different regions, though tending to warmer climates
HQ, smaller production: tank method
Most inexpensive to mid-priced: carbonation
especially pink Moscato (e.g. Innocent Bystander):
growing sector in domestic Australian wine market
19: AUSTRALIAN PROSECCO legal/labelling
winemaking options:
- Rapidly growing, important segment of Australian sparkling wine
- Main region: King Valley — Prosecco emerging as its flagship sparkling wine
-
Labelling:
- Australia continues using the name Prosecco
- Argument: Prosecco planted before 2009, when Italy changed it from a variety to a PDO
- First Australian Prosecco: Dal Zotto (2004)
- Exports to EU must be labelled as Glera
-
Legal efforts:
- King Valley supports legal representation to defend use of “Prosecco” in markets like China
- Argues it refers to a grape variety, not a region
-
Production methods:
- Mainly tank method for a light, fruity style
- Some also made using carbonation
- Market situation and export for Australia
- Annual sparkling sales: 66 million litres (2019–20)
- Sparkling = 12% of domestic wine sales by volume
- Market split: 89% domestic, 11% export
- Sparkling sector: 6% of total wine crush
- Exports rising, driven by Moscato, Shiraz, and Australian Prosecco
- Exports of traditional method wines have declined
-
Flexible regulations: Winemakers not limited by GI variety rules
- Enables new styles like sparkling Shiraz
- Producers range: From major corporations to small artisans
-
Tasmanian traditional method success → major acquisitions by large producers
- Sector consolidation
- E.g. Brown Brothers bought Tamar Ridge; Accolade owns multiple brands including House
- Recent developments in Australian wine
-
Australian Prosecco:
- Over 6.5 million litres sold on domestic retail market (2020–21)
- Grape crush rose from 2,000 to nearly 16,000 tons (2015–21)
-
Moscato:
- Production tripled (2014–17)
- Now at less than half the retail sales of Australian Prosecco
-
Sparkling Shiraz:
-
Sales declining, possibly due to:
- Rise of alternative sparkling options
- Decreased interest in high alcohol wines
- Viewed more as a local/Australian specialty
-
Sales declining, possibly due to:
-
Pet Nat:
- Growing interest in domestic market, especially through wine bars
