Three days, Three Australian States, Three Steps to Building Wine Expertise
I spent much of last month in one of my favorite countries: Australia. This is my 15th time visiting Australia and each time I build some time in for winery visits. This year I covered quite a bit of distance, by going to the top three producing Australian states: South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales. This is no mean feat. Australia is as big as the US, and I covered an area roughly from Texas through North Carolina.
I love these types of trips because they continue to build my wine knowledge. There is no substitute for visiting a wine region, seeing the topography, feeling the climate and meeting the people. No book can replicate this experience. In this review I will give you my thoughts on three standout wineries in each state.
I started in Victoria and travelled an hour south from Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula. The Peninsula is like a finger stretching into Port Phillip Bay with a ridge down the middle. The topography is great for winemaking and allows growers to plant on gentle slopes and angle vines to make the most of the sun. I am always amazed at how much cooler it is in Mornington vs. the capital city or Melbourne – great climate for wine grapes!
Ten Minutes By Tractor is one of Mornington’s premier wine producers and the wines did not disappoint. The tasting room looks out over the vineyards and allows you to see the plants producing the wines you are drinking. Ten Minutes by Tractor is known for its range of single vineyard Pinot Noirs – all of which are layered with fruit and balanced by enough acidity and plush tannin to give them great structure. Surprisingly, for me the standout was a blend of sites called “Up the Hill Pinot Noir.” The ripe red fruit of cherry and strawberry is well defined and slightly jammy in the best possible way. Check out the phenomenal fixed price restaurant at the winery but make reservations well in advance.
Next, I travelled to South Australia with its capital city of Adelaide. It had been some time since I have been to the state that represents 50% of Australian wine production. I travelled north to the Barossa Valley, known for its rich, ripe Shiraz. In the best of times Barossa is a relatively flat, dry area, but this year I was amazed at just how dry it was. Clearly, water is an issue, and I think all producers will be wary of fires.
The standout winery in Barossa was Torbreck and there wide range of Shiraz. Scott McDonald Senior Torbreck winemaker, took me through this range along with his equally good other varietal wines. The basic Torbreck “Woodcutter’s Shiraz” is dependable as a textbook example of basic Barossa. The standout wine was the premium priced “The Laird” Shiraz. It shows power and elegance together and is clearly a special wine.
The final stop was the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. About three hours northeast of Sydney, the Hunter is a beautiful valley with rolling hills in the shadow of Australia’s Great Dividing Range mountains. Usually in February the Hunter Valley is incredibly hot, but I lucked out a had cooler weather. The Hunter is for Sydney what Napa and Sonoma are for San Francisco and there is no shortage of great resorts and restaurants.
No trip to the Hunter would be complete without visiting Tyrrell’s. This winery put Hunter Valley Semillon on the international map, along with rich Hunter Valley Shiraz and what I consider one of the best Chardonnays in Australia. I was lucky enough to spend time with Bruce Tyrrell. His family has been making wine here for 5 generations and over 160 years. Bruce’s stories about the past and today give context to the region and never fail to put a smile on my face. All of the wines here were outstanding, but the surprise was Tyrrell’s Fiano. They have taken this Italian grape and given it new personality. In a word, this wine is delicious, and I hope it eventually gets exported in large volume to the US.
All three of these visits reinforces what I have learned through WSET and wine education in general. Whether you are an aspiring sommelier or just a wine lover, this kind of travel underscores the importance of getting out to wineries as one of the best ways to enhance wine knowledge.