Australua

Question 1

Location

Answer 1

• Yarra Valley, Adelaide hills, Tasmania, and then the alpine regions of Victoria and New South Wales
• Riverland, Riverina, and Murray Darling. Wines are often labeled as South Eastern Australia
• Sparkling shiraz is Barossa, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Rutherglen, Riverland, Riverina, and Murray Darling

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

• grapes usually grown in the cooler regions for premium grapes
• cooling influences will either come from the ocean (tasmania), or altitue (adelaide hills) or topography (yarra valley)
• bulk wines come from more hot regions and need more irrigation

Question 3

Grape

Answer 3

• CH, PN, Some PM, Muscat, Shiraz

Question 4

Winery

Answer 4

• premium is both traditional and where volume is needed, transfer method to avoid the riddling process
• most see extensive lees ageing
• bulk wines are the tank method and carbonation
• clean fresh fruit flavors.
• acid aditions may be necessary for grapes grown in warmer regions
• sparkling shiraz that’s premium made in traditional method
• lighter styles usually made in the tank or carbonation

Question 5

Styles

Answer 5

• NV, vintage, Rose, Brut, Blanc de Blanc, Blanc de Noir

- grapes or vintage stated on a label must contain 85% of either

Question 6

Trade Structures

Answer 6

• alot of consolidation is going on right now
• producers either specialize in sparkling wine or make a sparkling wine to compliment their portfolio
• most own vineyards but a lot source their fruit

Question 7

Adelaide Hills

Answer 7

• one of the oldest wine growing regions
• it’s altitude 1300-2100 ft are what keep it cool
• also the hilly areas wi different slopes and exposure to light offer a range of mesoclimates
• this make site selection critical
• north has western facing slopes which make it colder
• southern elevations where the coastal effects moderate the temps
• ripening season is dry and with colder temps, this allows the grapes to mature at a slow pace resulting in a concentrated wine
• Great for PN and CH
• most CH goes through MLF for added complexity

Question 8

Victoria

Answer 8

• southeastern part of the continent
• PN and CH are the best grapes grown here
• cool ocean influenced climate at odds w/ rest of the common Barossa Shiraz
• 3rd most productive region
• due to lack of irrigated areas suitable for mass production

Question 9

Tasmania

Answer 9

• Island state 150 miles off the coast of victoria
• westerly winds blow across the southern ocean and hig tasmanias west caost with heavy rainfall
• wild, wet climate makes the west better suited to rainforest than viticulture
• most vineyards are located on lower slopes and valleys in th north and the east
• enjoy a more maritime climate here (bodies of water act as temperature moderator) Warm but not hot summers, cool but not cold winters
• leading grapes are PN and CH
• wine grew by more than 300% over the last decade
• Chandon known to source grapes from here
• Roeder came in in 1985 to set up shop, wines sold out despite being poor. Fault was blamed on the unabiloity to ripen the grapes. Most people now think it was money related
• fruit from the north in Pipers River was initially important
• also grown in sout and east, coal valley where cool climates give the fizz a high natural acidity, finesse and linearity

Question 10

Vinification

Answer 10

• traditional method when using the classic gratpes
• tank and carbonation are preferred when making w/ aromatic grapes
• there’s also sparkling shiraz

Question 11

Premium wines

Answer 11

• Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales

Question 12

Bulk Wines

Answer 12

• Riverland, Riverina, Murray Darling (often labeled South Eastern Australia)

Question 13

Sparkling Shiraz

Answer 13

• High quality in Barossa, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, and Rutherglen (region on label)
• Cheaper quality in Riverland, Riverina, Murray Darling or be a blend from a number of regions
• deep purple red in color
• two basic styles: oaky or fruity
• big wines with a somewhat sweet finish
• not taken seriously enough outside of the region
• full bodied red wine that’s sparrkling
• tannins grate against the smoothness of the mousse
• serious but fun
• takes a while for people to adjust to this, especially the sweet finish

Question 14

Yarra Valley

Answer 14

• unlike the hot and dry Australia, Yarra is cooler and known for it’s CH and PN
• remained untouched from the phyloxxera epedemic in the 1880’s
• it did hit on hard times in the early 20th century when fortified and big Shiraz wines were all the rage
• their lighter style wines struggled to compete and many acres of vines were uprooted for more favorable crops
• CH was the dominant, now it’s PN
• share the same climate and topography as Burgundy (escarpments and ridges)
• sort of like a mini cote d’Or the vineyards site on the eastern foot of the slopes
• climate amongst the coolest due to elevation 1600ft
• also due to the topography of hills which creates shadows, shelter and heat sings
• rainfall distributed more towards the beginning of the growing season
• dry, humid, ripening period
• only risk of spring frost is in the coolest years (even then only effects the lowest lying vineyards)
• free draining soils, little rain that does fall drains rapidluy
• to prevent the vines from shutting down, irrigation is almost everywhere here
• Chandon setup shop here in 1985

Question 15

Vineyard

Answer 15

• location is key for sparkling wines
• slow ripening in cool temps means the grapes can be picked when they have lost their unripe green flavors yet still retain their acidity and low sugar levels
• early picked may be needed for the bulk wine areas
• for sparkling shiraz, ripe fruit and soft tannins are what they look for