Australia

Things are not quite what they seem down under! Though our good friends in Australiamay appear so relaxed and laid back, in terms of winemaking their lightning responses to market changes and sharp understanding of customer needs has speedily propelled themto the forefront of this ever-changing industry.

With only two centuries of winemaking history, compared to the two millennia of many of their old world counterparts, Australia has had to make fast work of building a successful name in the wine world. Now as the world’s fourth largest wine exporter and with international popularity, Australia’s success is surely a result of the innovation andlikeability of its enigmatic winemakers.

International wine drinkers were first attracted to the simplicity of the country’s single varietal labelling and its approachable fruit forward wines. Yet fashions change, and as wine drinkers look increasingly for a sense of place in their glass, Australia is ready to adapt.

Thanks to increasing interest in Australia’s diversity as a tourist hotspot, vinophiles are really beginning to appreciate the variety in terms of climate and terroir that make the country’s wines not generic expressions of warm climate classics, but unique expressions of a diverse topography. From the sun-baked, red clay rolling hills of the Barossa to the undulating, maritime coastal vineyards of the Mornington Peninsula, this country has so much to offer.

Many winemakers who have trained in the vineyards of Europe have taken knowledge and cuttings back home to combine tradition with new ideas and technical innovation. It is this innovative streak and eagerness to please which assures us that our antipodean friends will continue to offer us wines we love. Drought has darkened its sunny days of late but whilst it may be the case that Australia is no longer a reliably consistent source of inexpensive wine, the increasing number of individual producers who are working on low yields from the right grapes in the right areas are forging a reputation for the value Australia can still provide.