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Check out Australian Wineries, While Visiting Oz

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

: Image of Madfish via Snooth

Check out Australian Wineries, While Visiting Down Under

If you like to travel to wineries when you visit a country, don’t forget to check out Australian wineries if you are traveling to the nation continent. There are ancient lands that have been making wine for almost three thousand years, and Australia isn’t one of them. Still, there is an Ozzy wine making tradition that started soon after colonization by the British. Within 50 years, wine production had taken root in the Australian soils. Before long, vineyards were dotting the countryside, albeit, mostly in the southern region of the land.

During past century, the Australian wine industry has matured and it is worthy of your attention. The quality of the wine and the amount of production has risen, dramatically. At the beginning of the 20th century, the entire continent’s wine production less than five million gallons annually. But today, the vintners of Australia easily bottle a hundred million gallons of wines worth drinking.

For wine making, Australia is blessed with a variety of climate types and soil conditions. This has made it possible to cultivate many different grape varieties and ferment many types of wine. Regional and local climates range from cool and damp to very hot and arid. Some conditions mirror those of the best European wine regions, other spots remind one of Napa Valley and even upstate New York. And where the soil and sunlight are right, but there is not enough rainfall, vineyards are irrigated to help them produce wine grapes.

There’s a lot of clay and limestone in Australian soils, yet the specifics vary just as much as temperature and rainfall. Australian winemakers have, over the years, learned what the lands are like and now match the type of grape that best fits their local soil. The results are high quality grapes and the best yield for that variety.

Australian wine have been ignored by most of the wine drinking world for the majority of its existence. No one could believe that wine from down under could be worthwhile – in the late 19th century, some judges insisted that the Victoria district wines that they had just rated so highly, couldn’t possibly be Australian! Today wine connoisseurs know that Ozzy vintages can be among the best and over the last 25 years, the wine world had taken notice and Australian wines got noticed, and production skyrocketed.

There was another boom, too – tourist visiting Australian vineyards. While a walkabout wine tour is not done, travelers by car will find many delightful vineyards to visit with many delightful wines.

As the fourth largest wine exporter in the world, Australia has a lot to offer. Even major wine producers, like Spain, France and Italy, buy wines from this country’s producers. Known for its characteristics “GSM blends” – wines made from a blend of Mourvedre, Shiraz and Grenache, as well as many other types, Australia has been called the most powerful influence in wine today.

So, if you’re going to be visiting Australia on our next vacation (or even for business), don’t forget to take the time to check out some of its wine regions… At least try a few local wines. And wherever you are in the world, for a great wine for your table, don’t pass over the Australian section. There are some really amazing wines there, just waiting for you to discover them!

About the Author: Want to Try the best Margaret River Wines? The Madfish Winery’s philosophy is to produce wines that are without pretension or fuss and are approachable in their youth with flavors and freshness.