Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/488317
april 2015 / the tasting panel / 61 A ustralia is back, and ready to reclaim its place among the countries producing the most prestigious wines in the world. This was the point amply demonstrated in vivid sensory terms by Wine Australia—the marketing and educational arm of Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA)—at the 37th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival this past February 2015, where the predominant theme was Savour Australia. Beyond the "Naughty '90s" The Aussies, in fact, made their case with a vengeance, bringing 55 of their most artisanal brands to the table, representing the country's five major regions and 16 of their 65 sub-regions—enough to show dramatic variations of terroir and contemporary style wines. Angela Slade, Wine Australia Regional Director for North America, noted that "it was time for Australia to come together to make a large-scale statement about our diverse offering today." In a seminar entitled "Shiraz: Aussie Superstar," Laura Jewell, MW echoed the consensus of a panel she shared with three other Masters of Wine by saying: "People are stuck with an image of Australian wine which is very wrong for what's been produced over the past ten years." "There are numerous Shiraz producers achieving more elegant, lower-alcohol styles, many from cooler climates giving less ripe but more complex aromatics," she contin- ued. "Yet in a way, these producers are returning to older styles, which is a departure from the bigger wines that were more like a blip that occurred during the 1990s . . . the naughty '90s." Wine Australia's Aaron Brasher added, "Even the wines from Australia's oldest regions, like Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, have been undergoing an evolution, and some radical departures in style." Rhys Pender, MW concurred, say- ing, "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-premise 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. The eminent panel members of the "Shiraz: Aussie Superstar" seminar (left to right): Aaron Brasher, Regional Director, Australia & Asia for Wine Australia; David Lemire, MW; Laura Jewell, MW, Regional Director U.K. for Wine Australia; Rhys Pender, MW; Barbara Philip MW; and Mark Davidson, Wine Australia's Global Education Manager, who moder- ated most of the seminars and crafted the education theme.