Although Australia’s history of viticulture is relatively short—vines arrived on the continent with the First Fleet of British prisoners in 1788—the country has made its mark on the global wine market and is now a huge exporter of both its wines and its winemaking methodology.
In its earliest days as an English penal colony, Australia’s winemaking suffered from little expertise. However, free settlers from Europe began to arrive, spurred by the promise of gold, and the vine flourished, spreading from New South Wales throughout the southeast by 1850. Over 6000 liters of wine was exported to Britain by 1854. A burgeoning population thirsted for wine in the colony as well, and many small wineries sprung up throughout New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia to meet the new demand. Penfolds and Lindemans, two of Australia’s most recognizable brands—both are now owned by Treasury Wine Estates—launched during this early period. However, as the easily extractable surface and stream deposits of gold depleted, many prospectors followed, and domestic demand for wine fell. Lowered demand, coupled with restrictive state trade barriers, led some producers to export to survive, whereas others remained small and localized—a division that exists, in exacerbated form, to this day. Economic recession and phylloxera befell Australia in the latter half of the 19th century, further harming the industry, but officials took strict and immediate measures to combat the spread of phylloxera, confining it to Victoria and a portion of New South Wales. While the root louse decimated the Victorian wine industry—Australia’s most important wine area in the late 1800s—it cleared the way for South Australia to emerge as the continent’s largest region of production. A second key factor in South Australia’s
I just noticed two stats that might need clarification or perhaps an update. In the "South Island" section of the New Zealand guide, it states that Marlborough has nearly 10,000ha of Sauvignon Blanc planted and that the region itself produces more than half of the country's total wine.
However, according to Wine Marlborough Ltd website (a subsidiary company of Marlborough Winegrowers Association) as of 2016 77% of New Zealand’s total wine production comes from Marlborough. Additionally Marlborough has 24,365ha of producing vineyards with over 85% planted to Sauvignon Blanc.
Thanks!
Seems like NZ finally got official GIs
Ngatarawa Doesn't appear anywhere as a sub-region of Hawkes Bay, I found a winery called Ngatarawa and is located between Gimblett Gravels and Bridge Pa Triangle (most of the winery is located in Bridge Pa Triangle)
Thanks a lot
Jacob Conn historically Semillon was known as Hunter Riesling in the Hunter Valley.
I'm confused by this: "Hunter’s output is white wine; Semillon, or “Hunter Riesling,” is the region’s greatest white grape."
So is Semillon also known as Hunter Riesling or are they saying that Semillon and Riesling are the greatest white grapes? The reason it's throwing me off is because it's implying that their is only one grape and not two.