The main wine producing regions of Australia are located in the cooler south east of the country. There are about 60 wine-producing regions located across the country, with vineyards in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales producing most of Australia's wine. However, wine is produced in every one of the six states and two territories.
South Australia South Australia produces most of Australia's wines and also has some of the oldest grape vines in the world. Vines in the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills survived a great phylloxera disease that wiped out vines in Europe and North America, and later the eastern vineyards of Australia. The State has a diversity of soils and climatic zones and there are seventeen different wine growing regions.The major wine growing regions of South Australia are the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, the Riverland, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Clare Valley, Coonawarra and Padthaway.
Victoria Victoria's wine history goes back to 1838 and Victoria was the premier wine State in Australia until the spread of phylloxera. There are more than 20 wine growing regions in Victoria,with the major regions being Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Goulburn Valley, Bendigo and Rutherglen.
New South Wales New South Wales was the first State in Australia to be colonised by Europeans and is Australia's oldest wine growing region. It has an extremely diverse range of climates and is home to around a dozen different wine regions. The major wine growing regions of New South Wales are the Hunter Valley, Mudgee and the Riverina.
Western Australia Western Australia is Australia's largest state and has the country's most isolated wine regions in its southwest corner. Since 1970 the area has undergone many changes with many new regions coming into existence. This region has become known for Sauvignon Blancs, Cabernet Sauvignons and Zinfandel. The major wine growing regions of Western Australia are Swan Valley, Margaret River and Great Southern.
Tasmania The island state of Tasmania has a cool climate. It is ideally suited for the production of superb sparkling wine from classic varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Tasmania also produces crisp, delicately flavoured bottled wines from Riesling, Gew?rztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which are noted for naturally balanced acidity and finesse.
Queensland Queensland has generally been regarded as too close to the tropics and too hot to produce quality wines. However, vineyard developments are steadily on the increase, with vineyards requiring a high altitude site to compensate for the hot climate. Queensland only produces a small amount of wine compared with the other States and boasts the closest vineyard to the equator. The two wine regions in Queensland are the Granite Belt and South Burnett.
Australian Capital Territory The Canberra Wine Region comprises the Australian Capital Territory and the surrounding area of New South Wales. The cooler climate of the Canberra District is renowned for it's consistently performing white varieties such as Chardonnay and Riesling. Most of the vineyards are young, having been established since 1990.
Northern Territory In the dry red heart of the Australian continent, the Northern Territory boasts a boutique vineyard and winery, the Chateau Hornsby, located 15 kilometres from Alice Springs.
The win growers in Australia are now harvesting plantings of the Tempranillo from over the last few years and the new grape on the Australian wine scene is becoming more popular than any other wine as far as a percentage basis is concerned.
So what is it that is so special about this particular grape? Some of the characteristics that are making it so popular are that the wines that come from it have a great color and delicate fruit flavor as well as being very low in acid and tannins which make for an effortless drinking style.
The Temranillo variety also has a short growing season in the vineyard which makes it suitable even for cooler areas which expands upon the regions of the country in which it can be grown.
The Temranillo variety is the main wine in the Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions of Spain where it is sometimes blended with Graciano or even sauvignon. In Portugal Temranillo is utilized as a minor part in port, and in some red table wines. In other areas of the world the major vineyards are found in Argentina and California. In California it is called Valdepenas and is generally thought of as unsuitable for making fine wine.
The popularity of the Tempranillo variety has increased in Australia just in the past few years. The renowned Brown Brothers have long been a pioneer of the variety, but now there are over 50 other producers of the variety in about half of Australia's sixty wine regions and even though McLaren Vale has the highest number of producers the Tempranillo variety is widely planted throughout the mainland Australian wine regions.
The highest rated Tempranillo wine according to James Halliday's Wine Companion 2005 is that which hails from Manton's Creek Vineyard in the Mornington Peninsula. Casella Wines, the makers of the hugely successful [yellowtail] range are also actively involved in the variety.
The fate of Tempranillo as far as Australia is concerned lies with the winemakers and the growers many of which are just beginning to experiment and learn how to use the variety. Some enthusiastic fans of Tempranillo claim that it will be the premium red wine in Austraila while some of the traditionalists stick by the Italian Sangiovese. One thing is certain, only time will tell but in the meantime I will continue to enjoy the competition.
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Ian Love has sinced written about articles on various topics from Wine and Spirits, Food And Drink and Wine and Spirits. Ian Love is director of group West Valley, which runs. Ian Love's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.
Gregg Hall has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lingerie, Desserts and Mortgage. Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Find out about at. Gregg Hall's top article generates over 3350000 views. to your Favourites.