Australia Rediscovers Its Mojo

Slowly but surely, Australian wines, at least those of high quality and in the $20 to $50 range, are regaining their foothold in export markets. The reputation of high-end Australian wines was dealt a severe blow by the flood of overblown, over-alcoholic and often sickly-sweet bottlings that the country began producing in the late 1990s, and the damage lingers. A quick scan of wine lists in American restaurants and the shelves of wine retailers will confirm that point, as will conversations with wine collectors, most of whom will proudly, even arrogantly state that their cellars contain not a single bottle of Australian wine.

Fortunately, positive changes have been occurring steadily if mostly under the radar of most consumers and even the trade. Adventurous producers who make elegant, Old World-influenced bottlings are challenging the stereotype that Australia is a one-trick pony that issues only massive, alcoholic wines without energy or complexity, and the number of such wineries is increasing. I saw more graceful, vibrant, well-balanced Aussie wines over the past year than ever before, and they come from across the breadth of that country’s wine-producing regions. Still, it’s an uphill struggle to get those wines into the glasses of vinous tastemakers, particularly those based in the U.S., as virtually every importer and producer I’ve talked and tasted with has noted. The Australian wine industry is among the most dynamic in the world right now but, unfortunately, that act seems still to be playing too often on the second stage.

Many wine merchants continue to give Australian wines a wide berth based on their past experiences or, in many cases, on second-hand information that Australia makes only commercial, low-brow wines. That’s their—and their customers’—loss as they’re missing out on some truly exciting wines that can rival the best in the world for their respective varieties and styles. While the market has clearly indicated its lack of appetite for cartoonish Australian wines at any but the lowest prices and importers around the world are seeking out wines that show more restraint, far too many consumers continue to think that the monster style is still the only one that Australia can produce aside from cheap and cheerful versions.

In the following paragraphs I have provided a very brief general overview of Australia’s most important wine regions and what they do best.

Sandy soils in the Vine Vale region of Barossa

South Australia and Southeast Australia

For many people, the red wines from this sprawling and diverse area define Australian wine, for better or worse. This is the home of the Barossa Valley, with its deeply concentrated renditions of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the McLaren Vale, which produces many outstanding wines from the same varieties, albeit on a relatively less boisterous scale. The Adelaide Hills excels with taut Sauvignon Blancs, while the Clare Valley is responsible for most of Australia’s best Rieslings as well as for vibrant red wines that lean distinctly Old World in character. Coonawarra is renowned for its earthy, ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines, the best of which can age and gain in complexity like serious Bordeaux.