amateur teen post

Australian White Wine Varieties
Chardonnay, the grape of white Burgundy which adapts readily to a range of climates, is generally considered as Australia’s best-known white wine varietal, accounting for around a quarter of wine production. The vine is grown in a wide range of areas, and depending on growing conditions (climate, vine management, soil) and vinification (aging, use of oak, malolactic fermentation) offers an extremely versatile array of styles, flavours and textures. Australian Chardonnay ranges from crisp and fresh to opulent and creamy, with flavours that can be zesty mineral citrus, the fuller white stone fruit, melon and pineapple, or nutty and toasty.

Australian Riesling can be something of a surprise to those accustomed to the sweet style of some Alsatian rieslings, as it is a bone dry, steely wine. It generally has the floral aromas typical of the grape, along with citrus notes, and is a good accompaniment to seafood or Asian dishes. When young, it is a very crisp and refreshing wine, but is capable of extended aging which gives it more toasty and buttery complexity. The nature of the vine means that it is grown in cooler regions, often at a few hundred metres of altitude.

The New World style of Sauvignon Blanc, characterised by herbal freshness and tropical fruit notes, has stormed around the globe. The wine produced in temperate New Zealand, especially the Marlborough region, is the most distinct expression of this style, echoed by the wines of the cooler-climate areas of Australia, such as Tasmania and Western Australia. Grown in warmer regions, such as Adelaide Hills, the tropical fruit characteristics of the wine are more to the fore. The fresh, crisp style of Sauvignon Blanc wines are aimed at early drinking, but oak aging can give a richer, more complex wine capable of longer cellaring.

Semillon is something of a Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde grape. It is most commonly found as a ‘filler’ grape, both in budget sparkling wines and Chardonnay blends, as well in more respectable assemblages alongside Sauvignon Blanc. However, in a few areas, most notably the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, it produces a distinctive and highly sought-after wine, requiring long bottle-aging before it displays the toasty intensity for which it is prized.

As with red wines, a wide range a vines for producing white wines were brought to Australia. The Rhone Valley provided the honeyed and floral Viognier and the hefty Marsanne grapes. Several growers produce crisp Verdelho wines, and Pinot Griogio tends to have the richer Italian style rather than being like the Pinot Gris of Alsace. There are also a large number of bulk white varietals, such as Doradillo, Muscat Blanc, Sultana, Palomino and Trebbiano, which are rarely exported in an identifiable form. In fact premium white varietals account for only around one quarter of Australian wine production.