Australia

Since Australian wine has risen to prominence only in the last 20 years, it's easy to assume it's the 'new kid on the block'. In fact, grape vines arrived in Australia aboard the First Fleet in 1788. Successive waves of European immigrants - Germans in the mid 19th century and Italians and Yugoslavs in the 20th century - did much to consolidate growth of the Australian wine industry.

These days Australian winemakers enjoy status akin to the country's sportsmen and indeed, they can be just as competitive! No surprise then that in 2005, Australian wine sales in the UK finally surpassed even those of the French.

For a long time, grape variety was the most important distinguishing feature of Australian wines. They built their reputation on Shiraz, Chardonnay, Semillon and Riesling and so on. Today you will find nearly all of the world's major grapes grown in Australia and the new buzz word is 'regionality'. Just as the French make great play of 'terroir' by way of the Appellation system (Bordeaux AOC, Burgundy AOC and so on), the Australians are placing more and more emphasis on their own geographically delimited wine regions.

In the following sections you can read about Australia's most important regions - old and new. All 60 or so areas grow a wide range of grape varieties but, increasingly, each is concentrating on those best suited to the local conditions.

Since our first trips Down Under in the 1970s we've been forging direct links with some of Australia's finest producers to bring you a regular supply of the country's most enjoyable wines. But you ain't seen nothing yet!