The SOMM Journal

April / May 2015

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{ SOMMjournal.com }  73 like Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, have been undergoing an evolution, and some radical departures in style." Rhys Pender MW concurred, saying, "The changes started a good 15 years ago . . . it's just that people haven't been aware that these changes were made." During recent years, of course, it has been easy for the American on-prem- ise trade to dismiss Australia as not only the land of over-the-top Syrahs, but also primarily as a producer of value-oriented wines less suitable for high-end restaurants. Then again, "supermarket" quality products have long been the staple of the French, Spanish, Italian and American wine industries, without affecting their reputation for prestige one iota. Less Is More Says Mark Davidson, Wine Australia's Global Education Manager, who mod- erated all of the Australian trade seminars at the Vancouver Wine Festival: "Australia's wine regions may be far flung—a distance further apart than Spain and Greece, if you superimpose a map of Australia over Europe—but we're really not that big. Australian vineyards total about 148,000 hectares; that's less than the Languedoc-Roussillon, and maybe about the size of Bordeaux." Fact is, Australia's yearly output (12 million hectoliters of wine) is as puny as a girly-man compared to France, Italy and Spain, which respectively produce over 46, 44 and 37 million hectoliters each year, according to the International Organisation of Vine & Wine's 2014 figures. Even the U.S. (22 million hectoli- ters) and Argentina (15 million) produce more wine than Australia. Australia's wine production is actually closer to that of the 10 to 11 million hectoliters now produced by China (believe it or not), South Africa and Chile. Wine Australia underlined the contemporary significance of their wines by showing many of the crisp, clean, light, pure and decidedly acid driven white wines that, ironically, have always played a key part in their 200-year old winegrowing tradition. Is the world—and particularly, the latest generation of smart, fussy American sommeliers—finally ready to appreciate the joys of defiantly tart and pungent Eden or Clare Valley Riesling, razor-sharp yet honeyed Hunter Valley Semillon, or deep and densely textured Goulburn Valley Marsanne? These iconic white wines—with their legendary penchant for maturing into even more magnificent wines after 10 to 20 years in the bottle—have always been like no others. Says Davidson, "These are our niche offerings that separate us from a global perspective. The concept of Cabernet and Shiraz blended together is another category that you can say Australia 'owns.' Then there are geological miracles like Coonawarra's Terra Rosa [a thin layer of rusted red clay resting on classic white limestone], which qualifies as another one of Australia's unique gifts to the wine world." The proof, as they say, is in the pudding—or the literal banquet of sensations that Slade's North American team put together to hammer their point home. More distinctive definitions of regional character as well as more natural (i.e., less manipulated, more sustainable) approaches to winemaking and viticulture also seemed to play a part in the body of work presented to show how Australia's finest now go far beyond classic names like Grange Hermitage or Hill of Grace in both style and proliferation. Above all, contends Davidson, "there is an air of brightness, a freshness of more lifted fruit, in many of today's Australian wines, whether made in lighter, unoaked styles or bigger, brawny styles. The reality is that Australia's culinary advances have also made an impact; brighter, fresher wines make more sense in a quickly evolving food culture. Everyone's palates are more refined, plus there are the inevitable generational changes—younger winemakers more in tune with the times." All the more reason to take another look at what Australia has to offer. Matt Fowles of Fowles Wines, and Brian Lynn of Majella Wines, on the "Geological Gems" seminar panel. The eminent panel members of the "Shiraz: Aussie Superstar" seminar (left to right): Aaron Brasher; David Lemire MW; Laura Jewell MW; Rhys Pender MW; Barbara Philip MW. Andrea Vescovi, Sommelier of the Blue Water Café and winner of the 2009 Vancouver International Wine Festival's Sommelier of the Year Award, pours at the Peter Lehmann wine dinner.

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