Australian wine region

[steve_irwin]

The state (or province) of Victoria is home to some of Australia's finest wine regions (yes, Australia has wine too!).

If you take a drive along the Gippsland areas, you'll encounter hundreds of vineyards and wineries. Most brew their own wines to sell, and many offer wine tasting, or wine and cheese meals.

Most of the wine regions consist of light-green rolling hills, great for a summer drive. Just hire a convertible, roll down the roof, and soar along the Gippsland roads.

Its a great place to visit, even if you're not a wine drinker. If you're a cheapskate like me, you can even get heaps of free wine samples.
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"Crikey!"

[Laura]

Australia has great wine! One of these years I mean to get there and try some where it's actually grown. For now, I'll just have to buy whatever we get imported here. Thanks for the information!

[cocodrilo]

Australian wine is inexpensive and the quality is excellent. I buy wines wholesale exclusively from a company which imports only wines from the antipodes. The main winegrowing regions are New South Wales (my faves are from the Cowra, Mudgee and Hunter regions), South Australia (Coonawarra, McLaren Vale Barossa produce some fabulous wines) Western Australia(Margaret River, Swan Valley, Pemberton, etc), Queensland (has only one, South Burnett) and Victoria(fabulous Yarra Valley, Murray Darling, etc!). ALl of the wines are fantastic values. Avoid the mass-produced stuff like Hardy's (decent but the other wines are SOOOO much better!). The Australian wine boom is really putting a damper on the French wine industry!

[David]

Well, you beat me to it, but I have to admit that I have come to prefer Australian wine to even French wine in most cases. I would love to get some receommendations on specific brands you prefer. I especially like full bodies, earthy reds.

[Laura]

As a Californian I can't even tell you the last time I drank French wine We grow too much of our own good stuff here to get around to seeing what's coming in from places where the dollar is weaker than skimmed milk My family is in the wine business, so we all tend to play "wine scavenger" and try to find new things for each other to try. So, I too am listening with wide open ears for Australian suggestions.

When I went to New Zealand last summer I tried a bunch of Hawke's Bay, Martinsborough, and Marlborough wines. Really lovely, and pretty much completely unheard of these days where I live. We get a lot of Australian wines (no Hardy's though, never heard of them, but that doesn't seem to be any great loss eh?), so hopefully some tips will lead me to some interesting buys!

[cocodrilo]

Wines from New Zealand are superb as well. A bit pricier than their Aussie counterparts, but well worth it. Check out Kim Crawford & Morton's Estate(Hawke's Bay), Collard's (Auckland), Ata Rangi(their pinots have won numerous awards) and Cloudy Bay(fabulous & worth the price).

I think if I were living in California, I would indulge on only California wines because, and I glibly say this, they are the best wines in the world, but they are way overpriced in Japan. (For example a $16 bottle of Frog's Leap will cost you over $30 here!!!) Here, the Aussie and Italian wines are great deals and best suit my budget as I often have parties and have to cater to the needs of wine-quaffing friends.

[Laura]

I'm trying to remember all the places we visited in Hawke's Bay...

Vidal Estate (oh my god...mmmmmmm)
Trinity Hill
Te Mata Estate
Matariki
Nagatarawa
Black Barn
Crab Farm (wasn't too fond of their wines...they seemed nice at first but they were only the second place we stopped at)

I just went and looked in our wine rack and I'm sad to report that all the wines we brought back are gone. Well, it was 10 bottles, and we gave two away. Still, I'm sad, because I can't get any of that stuff here in the US. I do have a bottle from Kim Crawford laying around that I got here in the US at either Cost Plus, Beverages and More, or Trader Joe's. I probably paid $15 US for it.

My family grows in Paso Robles. They do a nice zinfandel, but at this point they aren't licensed as professional winemakers so it's for family use only. They also grow cabernet and merlot grapes, and those go to Meridian and BV for use in their wines. Paso wines are very good and not as pricey as Napa wines. If you haven't tried any and you see some, go for it. Some of our favorite Paso Robles vintners are:

Meridian
Wild Horse
Chateau Margene
Victor Hugo

[cocodrilo]

I've heard of those Paso Robles vintners but I don't believe I've ever tried their wines. I'll keep my eyes open. I won't be making it to the continental US this year but I'm going to Maui late summer and the nice restaurants have very good wine lists so I'll be trying a lot of the more recent vintages!

[Laura]

If I come up with more I'll let you know...I was just going by what's still in the wine rack. My father has made it his duty to search out every single Paso winemaker to find his favorites. And there are a LOT -- a number of them don't even sell to distributors, you can only buy at the winery and maybe one other store.

That's what makes wine tasting so much fun, no matter where you are -- seeking out stuff that you've only heard of by word of mouth, and getting a chance to discover it for yourself.