Discover Australian Riesling with Emma Symington MW

So welcome Everybody to diversity school london’s Webinar this evening My name is lydia harrison mw i’m a Educator at the school in london And also uh host our events program and Organize our events and obviously over The last year and a half they have very Much come virtual And we’ve been doing a whole host of Webinars which you can see Um previous ones on our youtube channel Or via our website And we’ve done a whole discover series So different great varieties different Regions different countries And we have recently partnered with wine Australia To specifically look at great varieties In australia so i previously did a Webinar on Australian pinot noir we have emma Simmington mw who works for wine Australia tonight To take you through riesling and the Best areas in australia for riesling And equally going forwards um in the Autumn we’ll also be taking a look at Shirats in australia so please do tune In for that As well if you want to know more about Australian great varieties So thank you very much for joining us And without further ado i’m going to

Hand you over to Msnbc who is going to take you on A journey of australian reasoning so Thank you emma Thanks so much lydia and hello thank you All for joining us um on this evening It’s really nice fuel to be here and i’m Really pleased to be presenting Um so as lydia said i am emma simmington Mw I am became an mw what nearly six years Ago now And for my day job i work for wine Australia so we’re the promotional Body for australian wine obviously the Head office is over in australia Um but i’m based here in the uk our Office usually is in london but Currently i’m still working from home And i live down in sussex So you’ve got all my details there do Contact me via instagram twitter or send Me an email at any point if you ever Want i’m always Willing to be contacted um and my Particular role within wine australia is Education development manager Um our office actually covers emea so Fully fully across europe middle east And africa that has to be said the Predominant amount of my work is in the Uk and europe um just Really going out to trade and talking to People about australian wine

Letting people that know a bit more About the diversity of australia talking About the regions and the climates and The great varieties and so on Um and getting people um knowing a bit More about australian wine So that’s why i’m here today to talk About australia and one of my favorite Great varieties riesling so i’m really Excited to be talking about reasoning Today Um now just to point out before we crack On with the actual presentation I popped a website on this slide here Australianwinediscover.com So that’s actually our education Platform we launched this a couple of Years ago And really it’s the best go-to resource If you want to learn more about Australian wine So on there we have 25 what we call Modules These cover the key great varieties in The key regions And there’s also modules on broader Topics like sparkling wine old vines There’s one on organics and biodynamics And so on and within those modules There’s power points you can download There’s maps there’s videos Um all sorts of information and it’s all Totally freely downloadable and also Fully editable

So you just go to that website register And then it’s all available to you So if you want to learn more about Australian wine and please do take a Look at that website because it really Is an amazing resource So today as i said we’re talking about Riesling So i’m just going to give you a quick Overview of australia generally to kind Of set the scene Then we’ll talk a little bit more about Riesling specifically Through the australian lens um and then We’ll do a kind of deep dive into four Of the key australian wine Regions for riesling so Kicking straight in to australia Say this is a slide i use in almost all Of my presentations because i think you Can never emphasize enough just how big Australia is because really the size of It is is the key to Why there is such diversity in australia Both in terms of Climates and topographies in soil types But also in terms of wine in terms of Wine regions Great varieties and stars of wine Produced So australia is the world’s sixth Largest country by landmass It’s the only island continent and it’s One of the most geologically and

Biologically diverse countries on the Planet It’s home to snow fields it’s home to Huge amounts of tropical coastline You’ve obviously got the red red bush Desert in the center you’ve also got Tropical rainforests It’s incredibly diverse in terms of Climate As you can see size-wise it really is Bigger than europe it is a vast Fast country to put some scale on this If you flew from perth over in western Australia to sydney across the new south South of wales that’s a five hour flight It’s about two thousand miles And you’ll be crossing three time zones So it’s a similar distance to flying From london to cairo So it really is a vast country to put it Another way Um another useful fact if you know for Pub quiz at some point in the future Um australia is actually bigger than the Moon now i say that sounds a bit crazy But um the diameter of the moon Um so across the moon is about 3 400 kilometers and australia at its Widest point west to east Is about 4 000 kilometers so just again Something To keep in mind just about how big Australia is because it does have such a Key influence on the diversity across

Australia So huge region a huge country sorry um So as you might suspect there’s quite a Lot of wine regions 65 in fact don’t worry there isn’t a Quiz at the end of this Um there’s probably only about 20 of These wine regions that we Typically see on bottles in export Markets i’d say Quite a number of the smaller ones you Tend to only see in australia itself And as you can see they’re predominantly Around the southern part of australia And that’s really because of the Influence of the southern ocean Now if you flipped australia into the North hemisphere It actually doesn’t occupy the same part Of the planet as europe It’s much closer to the equator so it Really occupies the same part in the Northern hemisphere As the very southern part of europe the Mediterranean ocean but really Predominantly it’s the northern part of Africa so it is relatively close to the Equator But that’s not to say the climate in Australia is the same as those parks In the northern hemisphere and that’s Because climate is not just influenced By latitude there’s Also other influences in australia the

Key Moderating influence is the southern Ocean it’s right off the south of Australia it’s a southern ocean It’s a very cold ocean all the water Comes up from antarctica So it really moderates the climate Around the southern part of australia Cooling it and also all these cooling Ocean breezes you have coming off the Ocean So this is the reason why you have all These wine regions Particularly near the coast around the Southern coast of australia This is also the reason why tasmania is Very much the coldest region In australia because it’s totally bathed In those cold waters Of the southern ocean so 65 wine regions In australia About 40 of those actually grow riesling I’m not gonna I’m not going to be talking about 41 Regions tonight don’t you worry We’ll just talk about the four key ones But riesling is grown in 40 of the Regions Um yes so 65 wine regions And australia is a vast country but it’s Actually only got 146 000 hectares of Vineyard Now that might sound like a lot um but That’s only

About four percent of global plantings Or to put it another way It’s about the same amount as bordeaux And burgundy put together So i think many people tend to think of Australia as a huge producing country in Terms of wine But it’s really not it only produces About the same amount of wine Or has the same amount of vineyard area I should say as border and berg me put Together It’s just a is a vast country of the Vast number of wine regions And so i think the con preconception is That it Perhaps has more vineyard area than it Actually does So turning to riesling reesting’s got a Long history In australia but i think like we’ve seen In many other parts of its Of around the world it’s had its highs And lows shall we say on its journey And i’ll go through the history a little Bit more detail um Next but today australia is one of Actually the world’s top producers of Riesling Production figures about the same as the Us so it sits in second place with the Us Ahead of france actually it makes Produces more riesling than france does

But obviously germany is in the number One spot so it doesn’t doesn’t Make as much uh riesling as germany does But about the same amount as the us So the history of reasoning in australia Um we’re not entirely sure when the First Um recently went out to australia some People say um james busby took it out in 1833 But the first official recording was Actually with william mcarthur another Scotsman Who brought into australia in 1837. William mcarthur was quite an important Person in the early history of Australian wine Because not only did he bring in Cuttings he also then worked to Propagate those cuttings onto bigger Vines and then sell more cuttings across Australia That he was one of the people that Really helped help mind spread to Different regions across Australia and recently in those early Days was really embraced by Immigrants from silesia so salish is a Historical region in central europe that Now encompasses Uh germany the czech republic um and Poland And quite a lot of people from from that Part of europe went out to

Um australia in the sort of early 1800s And they they implanted actually quite a Lot of reasoning at the time So as one man who you may have heard of Called johan gramp So he immigrated from germany Over to australia settled in south Australia And planted some his first vineyard in 1840 in what is now the barossa valley Um and he then actually wrote back to His family and friends in germany And asked them to send specifically more Cuttings Of riesling which he planted at his Estate which was along the banks of Jacob’s creek um and that is where um The jacob’s creek winery got its name he Was the man who set it up And it’s really why riesling is um or Was One of jacob’s creek’s most important Wines And then there was another man called Joseph gilbert he was english Actually and he planted the first Vineyard up in the eden valley so much Higher altitude Cooler climate uh and riesling and that Is what is now the pucy veil vineyard And by the mid-1800s reece was really in Highly in demand in australia I was the sort of wine most people Wanted to drink

And then a few years a few decades later By the 1930s there was the first kind of Innovation Of first revolution in terms of wine Making And it was refrigeration really Turned things around in terms of making Rising because For the first time wire makers could Actually influence how long They could ferment their riesling form And keeping it cool Meant they could keep all the aromatics In the wine and keep that freshness So that was a really important thing That happened in the 1930s Um and then in the 1950s colin gramp Who’s actually the great Great grandson i think that was right of Johan gramp Invented cold pressure fermentation so Again keeping it cold but keeping the Fermentation under pressure again helped Keep those aromatics in there But that layer of carbon dioxide and That stayed on top of the Ferment meant you didn’t get any Oxidation so again keeping that Freshness in the wine So that was another revolution that Really helped riesling kind of move Forward In australia and by the 1960s It again was really a very very

Important great variety in australia There was a white wine boom at the time And everyone was drinking riesling or They perhaps thought they were Because it was a time when what is said On the label was not necessarily what Was in the bottle So you had things like hunter valley Riesling which in fact was not riesling At all it was semi-on it was just Labeled as riesling But i think this goes to show just how Important riesling was Because because people were calling Anything riesling Because it was such an important great Variety But then a couple of decades later Chardonnay came on the scene And suddenly i think globally this is Not just in australia this is in all the Export markets as well everyone wanted Australian chardonnay Um and it wasn’t that riesling plantings Necessarily declined at the time it’s Just chardonnay plantings Absolutely skyrocketed and popularity Just went through the roof So um today recently accounts for only About 3000 hectares of plantings in Australia That’s only about two percent of total Plantings In the country but it still is a very

Important great variety And particularly in some of the regions I will be talking about today So viticulture and riesling Now there’s some grapes i’d say like Chardonnay that people often talk about As I suppose a winemaker’s great variety in That the winemaker can put So much impact i think on terms of the Wine style you know but be at oak or You know doing all sorts of things to The wine and to affect the Style and flavor of it how i think about Riesling is In fact the exact opposite i think it’s More of a viticulturalist grape variety Because it really is one of those grapes That is so expressive of where it’s Grown and its sight It really kind of assumes the Characteristics of its terroir if you Like Absorbs the environment where it’s grown So quite different to these sort of more Winemaker grapes It’s a great variety that typically Grows really well in a cooler climate But specifically a climate with cold Nights to really keep that freshness The acidity but also those um aromatic Flavor compounds in the wine So in in terms of australia um regions That work well tend to be ones which

Either have some sort of continentality So you get cold nights because of that Diurnal difference Or have that cooling influence due to Ocean or altitude And again we’ll talk more about that When we get into the regions themselves Um so reesin can be quite a vigorous Great variety so it tends to grow best In relatively low fertility soils which Kind of naturally Control that figure it’s also a great Variety which tends to have quite tight Clusters And what that can mean is if you have Quite a humid or damp climate You can have problems with rot now in Terms of australia You’ve got places like the clare valley Which is actually a very dry climate in The growing season because Predominantly all the rain and the cloud Tends to fall in winter or spring Throughout the summer there’s very very Little rainfall So they have any problems with rot at All which is brilliant It also means that it’s a fantastic Region for growing organically and Biodynamically But it does mean equally that they Actually can’t make the tritar Style of riesling because they just Don’t have the right environment and so

For that reason I’m going up in a bit of a tangent here But anyway um people like mount horrocks You might have heard of they’re called Uncut beastling So man horrocks based in the claire Valley makes a sweet wine Can’t make a patriarchy style because They don’t have the right climate But instead they make a called uncut so They literally go along and cut all the Canes On the riesling so the grapes naturally Raisin on the vine and they use those Grapes then to make the wine Of course there are other regions in Australia where you can have botrytis Places like riverina Uh where the clue’s in the name there’s Quite a lot of waterways there in terms Of rivers and streams and so on So naturally they get botrytis in those Regions so they can make those more Sweeter for tri-ti styles And then in terms of australia with Riesling i think really the key thing in Terms From a bitter culturalist point of view Is controlling the canopy I said earlier how australia is Relatively close to the equator And what that means is you always have This real sunlight intensity in Australia

There’s no getting away from it that’s Just what make part of what makes Australian wine australian And part of what means you always get This kind of flavour richness And particularly in riesling i’d say but Because of this sunlight intensity And because riesling grape skins are Quite delicate It’s very very important from a Viticulturist point of view that they Sort of control the amount of sunlight That can get onto the grapes So having some sort of shading in the Canopy is very very important And generally the viticultures will talk About trying to get some sort of dappled Shade On the grapes so a little bit of Sunlight getting through to allow Ripening but not too much that you’re Getting any sunburn Or um too much harsh phenolics being Accumulating in those grape skins And then in terms of wine making in Australia i think the classic style of Wine making frustrating riesling is Super easy see easy i was going to say Straightforward might be a better word Um so predominantly hand-picked and then Whole bunch pressed because they really Don’t want any of those for Those phenolics they’re looking for Absolute purity in terms of the

Grapeview grape juice just getting that Lovely flavor intensity And then fermented in stainless steel Low temperatures To get those lovely esters and aromatics In the wine early bottling Um and and generally under screw cap and That’s really About as easy it gets i think in terms Of what i’m making Of course these days there’s there are a Lot of people playing around with things As well Oh you do get some white wine makers Playing around with a little bit of Extended skin contact um so getting some A little bit of those phenolic flavors Into the wine just to add a bit of Breath And richness and weight um and we’re Also seeing Some people playing around with some Lease aging as well or lease stirring Again to add texture Um and there’s also some wire makers i’m Using old oak Both for fermentation and maturation Again not to add Necessarily oak flavor but again just to Add more extra weight and richness and Creating a slightly different style So there’s quite a lot of Experimentation going on as well but i Think the typical

I suppose classic style is that more Straightforward Pressed pressed fermented bottled Really and bottled under screw cap I’m worth saying at this point that it Was actually um really the claire valley Wine makers that made Screw cap as important as it is today Globally Um you know there were early early um Experiments Um with screw cap actually back in the 70s in the eden valley pc vale Um did quite a lot of winemaking or Bottling under screwcap at that point But at that time consumers really just Were not ready for it so it never took Off And it wasn’t until 2000 that 13 wine Makers in the clare valley decided to Band together And all bottle all of their eastlings Under screw cap And that’s really what changed things Globally for screw cap and suddenly Um i think everyone else realized what a Good thing it was for this style of wine And now something like 98 of all white Wine in australia as bottled under screw Cap So quite incredible how in a very short Space of time really you know a couple Of decades Um we went from no screw cap to 98 of

Wines Um in australia white wines in australia Under screw cap And all down to these riesling makers Okay so come on racing styles in Australia so as i’ve said i think the Key style really is this Lean dry bone dry Style high acid quite citrusy Um but you are beginning to see more of This kind of slightly off-dry Um people playing around a little bit More with added weight Whether it be in terms of some more Phenolic texture Some leaves aging um or so on all you Know just adding a bit more residual Residual sugar and then also these Dessert styles But i think it is predominantly it is That bone dry style we tend to see out Of australia From across a number of regions Um and then the other thing always worth Remembering about um recently I think i touched on is just how well it Ages um i often think about these kind Of three Ages or three ages of australian Riesling reasoning generally i suppose Um you know when it’s bottled it’s so Super fresh you’ve got that really high Acidity And in australia you tend to always have

This lemon and lime kind of citrus Flavors And then once you get to about five Years old that acidity just starts Softening off a little bit You begin to get a little bit more Breath on the palate and you’re Beginning to get these kind of Buttered toast honey lemon curd kind of Flavors develop And then for about about 10 years old Again that acidity Tends to soften off a bit more you’re Getting much more of these toast and Honey Almost a bit nuttiness um coming through As well so You know as reasoning ages you really do Get this Quite difference in terms of complexity In the wine With that acidity just driving Everything through Now that’s not to say that riesling can Only be aged for 10 years Because certainly i mean the best wines You could age for 20 30 years Quite happily i remember when i was in Australia Oh that’s been four or five years ago Now i was really excited To be honest i got to taste um 1974 I think it was and it was one of those Early wines that they bottled and screw

Cap And it was just phenomenal i mean it was Fully evolved so it was very Toasty buttery you know nutty all of That stuff but it still had this Lovely spine of acidity running through It Um so it was still totally alive and you Know Just it was just a fascinating wine to Try um Very special and just goes to show that A riesling evolves very well under screw Cap And b you can keep it for a very long Time Okay so australian means we australian Reasoning regions Um as i said there are about 40 regions Um in australia that grow riesling For the purposes of tonight we’re just Going to focus on four of the key ones So claire valley in eden valley um Being i suppose probably the two Predominant ones the two classic ones Both in south australia Um but then a couple of the more up and Coming regions being tasmania And then great southern over in western Australia So first up the claire valley so Claire as you can see is uh due north of Adelaide It’s about a two-hour drive due north of

Adelaide And the confusing thing here is that Claire valley is in fact not Actually a valley just to confuse you It’s actually um A series of sort of north-south running Ridges Uh with valleys in between but even the Valley The valleys themselves are are elevated So the whole of clave valley is an Elevation Which influences the climates so the Difference is here On those valley floors you’re sitting at About maybe 200 meters in terms of Altitude Um but up on the hills sort of between The valleys you might be up to about 550 600 meters so quite a significant Difference in elevation in the cloud Valley And this is part of the reason why the Cloud is known for its two Main varieties being riesling and shiraz Which you might otherwise not think is Sort of classically in the same region Together Um and this is because the rece i’m Sorry the shiraz tends to be grown down On those valley floors Um which are obviously the warmer size And then the riesling has grown up Higher um up on those hillsides on the

Higher sides which are much cooler So this is why reesing and shiraz Coexist very very happily together in The clare valley So the claire has about 5000 hectares of Vineyard Of that about a thousand is riesling So i said earlier i think about 3 000 Hectares Is the total plantings of riesling Across australia so a third of it Actually is in the valley um so riesling Is very very important for the Valley and similarly clear valley is Very important for riesling in australia So this is just another map this is Actually from our gaia Resolutions we’ve made and this is all Based on satellite imaging software Um so the idea for this was so we we as One australia could really figure out Where all the vineyards are um Specifically in australia So all these dark green that you can see On the map those are actually where the Vineyards Are in the region so as you can see There are quite a lot in the claire Valley And they are predominantly towards the Center of the claire But hopefully you can just about pick Out those north-south running ridges Running down through the region there

So climate-wise in the clare valley um It’s pretty continental As hopefully you’ll have seen from this One we are a relatively well Um far away inland so therefore quite a Continental climate So it does actually get pretty hot in Clare valley in the summer 40 degrees is pretty standard you know 35 40 degrees on a summer day it’s quite Normal But because of this continentality and Also because of this elevation There’s a huge diurnal variation so you Might be up at 35 40 in the daytime You’re probably down in single figures At the night time so Really really big diurnal variation so In terms of the wine obviously what that Means is In the daytime the grapes are getting Pretty ripe getting lots of flavor Intensity But as soon as the sun sets and that Temperature plummets Ripening stops and that really keeps the Acidity in the wine and the freshness So really important for the style um This specific climate in the clare Valley You do get some hot winds coming down From the north but the predominant winds Are actually some cooling breezes that Come off

Of the um gulfstone vincent to the Southwest And they tend to come through in the Afternoon so again they just help to Slightly cool off those grapes in the Afternoon They’re not getting too hot as i said Earlier it’s a dry climate The rain tends to fall in the winter so Throughout the summer there’s no issues In terms of humidity so there’s very Little disease pressure So as i said it’s a great region for Growing organically Um i think i’ve covered this all uh so Continental climate Large diana difference and quite a Variation in altitude between those Valley floors And up on the hillsides Soil types there’s actually 11 Recognized soil types in the tile valley Now this isn’t unusual for australia Because australia is such an old Continent Everything um has been so eroded um in The country in terms of soil types So sort of diversity in in terms of Within wine regions is very very typical And so quite different to wine regions In europe So eleven soil types um across the Claire valley And generally we’re talking about five

Key Kind of sub-regions in the claire valley Although none of these are Officially defined it’s just the clare Valley is the region there’s no official Sub-regions But people tend to talk about five Distinct areas Being urban watervale seven hill polish Hill river and clare itself Now two of the i think quite interesting Different soil types to talk about our Watervale and polish hill river Because they’re both relatively high Altitude um within um within the claire You know 450 500 meter kind of altitude But quite different in terms of soil Types so watervale And the wine winemaker’s often referred To as a soft rock Soft rock site because it’s this classic Terra rossa red topsoil over Limestone so limestone being the soft Rock And then polish hill river on the other Hand is a hard rock site With this broken slate and this gives Quite differences To the wine that comes out of it Eventually Because polish hill river on that broken Slate is actually very very low in Fertility So the vines really struggle growing in

This part of the tile valley So that tends to mean you get small Bunches you get small berries And you tend to get much more i suppose Mineral dip driven wines Rather than fruit focused they tend to Be quite lean They also tend to be wines that age for A very long time because of this style On the other hand water veil this soft Oxide Is actually much higher in fertility so You tend to get more generosity in the Wines You tend to get more kind of fruit Flavors much more florality as well I’m so quite interesting to see and just To show you what that looks like In reality i’ve got this great photo From Jeff grossett from grosset wines so this Is two of his wines uh polish hill which Is obviously from polish hill river And springvale which is for a watervale Site And i think just looking at these Bunches you can really see those Differences So the grosset sorry the polish hill From polish river you can see it’s got Smaller berries The overall bunch weight is clearly a Lot smaller and you’ve also got much Yellower skin the actual skin and the

Grapes looks quite different Whereas the spring veil the water veil Sites so high in fertility you get this Much bigger bunch Bigger berries and it’s much greener And i asked jeff you know why the Difference in skin color Um between the sites and he actually Doesn’t know he just says that is what The site gives He’s got the same clones between those Two sites there’s very little difference In elevation between the two sites Wine making is the same you know when it Comes to that side of things But just this polish hill river gives This quite Different um look to to the grape To the grapes themselves and the bunches So i think that’s a really nice picture Just to really show Uh the differences between these two Sites within the clare valley itself So this is just a nice view um across The cloud this was actually taken in Spring you can see it’s all still very Green But i think it gives you an idea of just Some of the topography In the claire the kind of rolling hills And the differences This is actually taken up from sort of High up on one of those ridges so we’re Looking down into one of the valleys

Here Um looking pretty beautiful But generally in terms of reasoning i Suppose what you could call the classic Class style you’d be looking at between 12 and 13 Alcohol totally bone dry absolutely no Residual sugar at all Low in phenolics um so these wines will All be made with just free run juice They definitely don’t want any phenolics In the wine at all And in terms of flavor profile very much That kind of lemon lime citrus And being very high in in acid Now we’ll come on to eden valley next But just just quickly i think The key difference is really between Clara valley and eden valley Typically i think claire tends to be a Bit more powerful In terms of flavor intensity than eden Valley and it tends to also have sort of Firmer acidity Than eden has there’s not a huge Difference i’m not going to lie and say All those Massive differences between claire and Even valley but in general I think claire tends to be that slightly More powerful and slightly Sort of firmer acidity whereas eden Tends to be a little bit more Floral and a little bit more mellower in

Terms of acidity So moving south a little bit down to the Eden valley So as you can see we’re i’m the sort of North northwest Um out of adelaide it’s about an hour’s Drive And for anyone who isn’t aware the eden Valley is part of the barossa zone So the barossa valley and the eden Valley together Form barossa so if you ever see A what a label that says barossa on it This is not so much with rieslings tends To be reshiras It will be because grapes have been Blended from between the barossa valley And the eden valley So essentially they’re kind of two sides Of the same coin But in a way we’ve got the same thing Here that we have with claire valley In that the eden valley is not a valley The barossa valley on the other hand is A valley it’s lower lying It’s definitely much warmer but the eden Valley is actually an elevated plateau Um so it sits at much higher elevation Than the brussels valley So you know you can be down in the Barossa valley and you’re kind of Looking up at the hills When you’re looking up to the eden Valley so it’s higher in elevation

Much cooler therefore and much windier Than down on the brussels valley floor So this is why the eden valley is Particularly um well known for riesling As well as shiraz whereas barossa valley Is obviously Much more well known for those bigger Fuller richer much more powerful red Wines So the eden valley has got just under 2 000 hectares of vineyards About 600 of those of riesling so not as Much Um riesling as in the clare valley but Still quite a lot and particularly for a Region of that size As i said it is cool climate again Because of elevation here So we’re sitting at anywhere from about 380 meters up to about 550 meters in the Eden valley So lower down towards the north of the Eden valley And then i’ll move on to this map and Then towards the south of the eden Valley is where you have those higher Elevations And the highest part of the height of Eden is called the high eden So this is actually an official Sub-region of the eden valley’s High eden and that’s where your Vineyards are sitting up at about 500 550 meters it’s a quite high altitude

I’m so much cooler and these are very Much the windiest sights as well In the region so again i think this map Just shows you quite clearly how the Eden valley is really not Particularly um widely planted and the Barossa valley on the other hand is You know quite a lot of vineyards down There Um so again just to give you a different Uh idea the difference between the Barossa valley and the eden valley Eden picking dates tend to be at least Three weeks Later than down on the barossa valley Floor so again just giving you an Indication of the difference in Temperature between the two areas even Though they’re right next to each other So as i said so the eden valley Mediterranean climate so it doesn’t Quite have the continentality of the Claire valley um so it won’t get as Hot in the daytime in eden it’s probably More likely 30 degrees Um in the summertime but it also won’t Drop as cold as At night time as it as in the claire Valley so you don’t quite have that Huge diamond or bit difference as you do In the claire which i think again Impacts the style of wine Produced in eden and is probably why you Don’t have quite as much power

As you do in the claire and also why That acidity is a little bit softer In the eden valley and i mentioned the Altitude there So soil types again you’ve got quite a Lot of diversity in soil types in the Eden valley Much of it is actually well suited to Dry land viticulture so it doesn’t need Irrigating But there are some sandia sites as well And in the eden which Will obviously need irrigating because Again it is pretty dry during the summer So this photo this is actually taken From jacob’s creek steingarten um Vineyards this is their top Um vineyard for riesling uh this is Taken at the end of the summer As i think you can gather from um the Colors here And this is actually from after harvest You can just about see the vineyards And the vines are beginning to brown off There But just to give you an idea of the Topography in the eden valley As you can see there are lots of Different aspects and topographies And so on it is quite an interesting Region in that sense Um so as i sort of said in relation to The clare valley eden valley tends to be A little bit softer in acidity and than

Claire And you do tend to have more florality i Find coming through from eden valley Rieslings you still have Very much that lemon perhaps not quite So much as the lime As the claire but certainly more of that Floral notes And slightly softened acidity but again The wines from Um up in the eden will be made very Similarly to the claire Predominantly um so you know Free run juice into stainless steel Fermented And bottled pretty young and released For sale Um and again these wines are well Particularly the best ones from regional Things that will age for decades So that was the sort of two classic Australian Riesling regions so next off we’ve quite A long way south Off to tasmania so tasmania i think is Probably one of the most exciting wine Regions in australia at the minutes It’s also the coldest wine region as i Said earlier is Totally bathed in those cold southern Ocean waters Um so really is a cold climate Viticulture here down in tasmania Now tasmania is its own gi so

Geographical indication or region But people tend to talk about seven Different areas Uh within tasmania now again these Aren’t officially Um designated as as sub-regions um but They’re just ones people Tend to talk about so as you can see There’s three of these areas Up in the northern part of tasmania Around launceston Then you’ve got the down the east coast There’s another part and then three um Out around Hobart down in southern tasmania Um and as you can see from this map here You can’t pick out too many of those Little green spots um for the size of of Tasmania it’s about the same size as Switzerland actually as an island Um there’s not a huge amount of Viticulture It’s something like about 2000 hectares Of total plantings in tasmania Um now to give that a little bit of Comparison i think here in the uk I believe we’re about two and a half Thousand hectares So not quite as much vineyard area in Tasmania as there is here So i think the interesting thing about Tasmania is actually how little is Exported Something like 40 of all production of

Wine in tasmania is actually drunk In tasmania and then another 55 is drunk On what the tasmanians would call the Big island being Australia um and then the remaining only Five percent is exported so we don’t Really see very much tassie wine over Here um which i think is Quite sad because i love the wines from Tasmania Um but you know there’s some fantastic Wines from tasmania and i think For many people if you think about Tasmania and wine you’re probably Thinking about sparkling wine Because there’s some truly outstanding Sparkling wine from tasmania On a par with anywhere else in the world I would say some really fabulous stuff But actually the reality is tasmania Produces more still wine than it does Sparkling I think it’s about a 60 40 split in Terms of still to sparkling And all that still there’s obviously Quite a lot of chardonnay in pinot noir Unsurprisingly because that’s also Planted for the sparkling wine But there’s also some syrup and then Riesling But not a huge amount of riesling i Think it’s only about five percent of Their total production Um but there are some really really

Lovely rieslings coming out of tasmania So climate wise in tasmania as i said it Is pretty cold Um with you know all that cold southern Ocean around it In general the northern part of tasmania Is a little bit warmer and the southern Part is a little bit cooler But on the other hand the northern part Is also a little bit wetter and the Southern part is a little bit drier Um so that can kind of equal each other Out in terms of cloud cover Because you tend to get more cloud cover In the northern part of tasmania And less in the south so there is some Variation is what i’m saying in terms of Climate across tasmania Not a huge amount of variation in Altitude i mean we do say here anything Between 10 and 330 meters But the reality is the vast amount of Vineyards um in tasmania kind of 80 Meters and below Because when you’re in a cold climate Area you really don’t need to be Planting altitude because You’re getting even colder so most most Vineyards have planted at relatively low Altitude Soil types in tasmania are incredibly Varied You have everything from sandstone to Volcanic soils to schis

To clay to limestone again it just Speaks about the diversity of soil types In australia So there’s not really any sort of one Underlying story In terms of soil types but again i think This is The interest and the don’t and the Interesting part of it and the diversity And certainly where all the local um Viticulturalists and winemakers get Excited So nice photo of what tasmania looks Like for you And it’s a wonderful place to visit Tasmania because it really does feel Very different Um to the rest of mainland um australia It’s much greener You know there’s water everywhere not Just surrounding the island but also in Terms of You know rivers and lakes and streams And so on um Across tasmania it is beautiful And i think you can see from this Picture you’ve got obviously liar Training here Which tends to be a training system You’re using in a cool climate because It opens up the canopy And the idea is to get more sunlight Onto the canopy and particularly onto The grapes themselves

So again this gives you an idea why this Is such a cool climate looking at this Vineyard So in terms of riesling and tasmania i Think What you get here is this real bright Crystalline fruit And i also see that in tasmanian Chardonnay it seems to be a Sort of a property almost of tasmanian White wines is this real crystalline Nature A sort of absolute purity to the wines Really amazing and then this racy Acidity Which is quite different of acidity to i Think particularly to claire which tends To be quite a firm acidity Um whereas you’ve got this kind of racy Quite exciting acidity in tasmania And just amazing fruit and flavor Intensity you tend to get in these wines But i think tassie riesling is one of Those places where winemakers are Beginning to experiment With different um i suppose methods of Wine making Be it a little bit of lee’s ageing to Add a bit of richness um Or perhaps even a bit of old oak as i Said before Um just kind of breaking things shaking Things up a bit Breaking the mold from what they’re

Doing in the more classic regions Or playing around wild fermentation and So on And then for the final region we’re Going to talk about So i’m just checking the time making Sure we’re okay we’re going to fly about 3 000 kilometers west so again just Emphasizing just how big australia is Right across to western australia To a region called the great southern so This is actually a really big region It’s about 150 kilometers by about 100 Kilometers So unsurprisingly uh there are Sub-regions within it As you can see franklin river mount Parker peron group Albany and denmark so a really really Big region um but only about again about Two and a half thousand hectares of Plantings here so plantings themselves Are quite sparse As you can see from this image and so Because it is such a huge region you do Get quite a big variation in terms of Climate Um so denmark and albany obviously you Get much more maritime climate Right on the ocean there with that Southern ocean influence mount barker And piranga up a little bit further Inland as a little bit warmer And then franklin river being the

Furthest inland most more continental In terms of climate and it is the Warmest it is also the more elevated um In terms of altitude So you do get much more diurnal Variation in franklin river Whereas obviously down in denmark and Albany being on the coast You don’t really get that diana Variation because you have this Moderating Influence of the ocean so in terms of Riesling it’s really franklin river Mount barker and baronga up where Riesling seems to be finding a really Natural home Down in great southern Um so climate as i’ve said albany and Denmark very much maritime But it’s the more continental climates Where riesling is sort of Holding strong um in great southern and Those mountain bark are parang And particularly in franklin river There is some altitude variation Obviously down on the coast Um very little in in denmark and albeit But by the time you get more inland You’re getting some influence of Altitude sort of 200 300 meters Which again is is influencing that Climate and giving you that diurnal Variation As soil types in the great seven so in

General here the western side of great Southern So um franklin river um denmark albany And mount barker tend to have more Gravelly soils which are actually quite Similar to what you get in margaret River So well-drained gravely soils um and Then peronga up more towards the east You tend to get more loamy soils Um but not you know not a huge amount of Difference there Um i’m sorry i don’t yeah i don’t think I’ve got a photo of i’m great servant But in general i think the great Southern rieslings In terms of style this is probably one Of the reasons where you do get people Playing around most with Kind of off dry styles as well but in General in terms of flavors Flavor profiles i always get this kind Of citrus blossom Um coming through from great southern so It’s not kind of that real lemon lime That you get in claire and eden It is that more kind of blossom floral Elements um but As well as that you tend to get more of That kind of orange and mandarin Um citrus or something perhaps a little Bit riper even Than you get in um clarinet and then This slightly softer acidity as well

Really really pretty wines um from the Great southern Um and that’s about it in terms of Riesling Um but before we head on to the Questions i just wanted Um to let you all know about a new Platform we just launched About three months ago called australian Wine connect this is something we’ve Launched and particularly for the trade Globally basically to put the trade in Contact With australian wineries it’s a virtual Always-on platform we’ve got about i Think 300 wineries On there now and the idea is you can go On there connect with wineries Start conversations but it’s also the Place where we now hold all our events Um you know numbers of tastings are on There Varietal and regional explorations all Sorts of content is on there too So again it’s a great place to go to if You want to learn a little bit more About australian wine or perhaps um Start talking to some wineries so Another one to be aware of Um and i think that’s it for me in terms Of riesling and Hopefully there might be some questions To answer i think lydia are you going to Pop on

Yes thank you thank you so much emma i Think that was brilliant it just Took me to australia i want to go now And visit you know whenever i see these Images i think it just Takes you transports you to the vineyard Um but yes we’ve had a few questions Come through so i’ll just i’ll just run Through them in order so Um you talked about the live training in Tasmania which is great sort of a cool Climate and more open canopy but Jeffy has asked about what kind of Training trellising you might use the Reedsling to minimize sunburn or Or in the sort of higher radiation Places yeah so In for pla in the claire for example They tend to use vsp But on in years where i suppose More el nino years so the um Where they have less rainfall uh they Tend to let the the canopy kind of Um flop a bit for want of a better word Um They cut something they call it a Ballerina canopy so essentially the top Of the um Um the canopy kind of leans over and Helps give extra shade to the grapes But it also means in the la nina years So and the years where you tend to get Cooler wetter years you can keep the Canopy

Uh much more constrained and get more Sun onto the grapes so that tends to be What they’re using to declare So it’s about knowing what what your Weather system is doing that Particular year and then managing your Canopy in the right way But they are very very careful Particularly in the claire i think Because they are that much further north Um and because They’re very wary of any kind of Phenolic influence in the grapes Brilliant thank you and there were quite A few comments people really appreciated Your look at how How weasling aged and the the kind of Evolution of flavours um and sasha has Asked when riesling ages are sugar and Acid levels actually Coming down or is this just a perception As the wine Evolves it’s just a perception i think Predominantly I’m trying to think perhaps some of the Acids might drop out a little bit As tart traits but essentially it’s just The perception Of everything else kind of changing Around it Brilliant and kind of tied into that With about the age ability of riesling Um We’ve got a question about does

Reasoning evolve better from a longevity Point of view with botrytis or without Oh great question Don’t think it would make any difference To be honest i think it’s more it’s About the acidity really that’s helping Drive it and obviously Generally with botrytis that’s Concentrating everything so not just Sugar but also acid Um so this is why you know some botratos Wines can last a very long time But equally you know dry whistling can Last a long time as well if it’s got That kind of flavor extract as well of The acidity Um and robert has asked is what’s the Allowance the alcohol allowance either Side of the labelled abv In in australia so inaudibly It’s 1.5 so it’s the same as in the States But for anything exported over here it’s Point five percent Okay so if you bought it over in the uk Then it will be within point five of That Brilliant um and claire has asked do Producers aspire To styles seen in europe or even other New world countries like washington State or new zealand Or do you think they sort of go for the Australian identity

I think um many of them particularly Those who’ve been working for a long Time in their sites Know what you know what is best for Their site and how they can best Um make use of it and i think a lot of Them now are more Not necessarily looking elsewhere but Really looking at their site and how They can Work with it the best for a lot of People you know like roster to man Horrors and so on have turned to Organics and biodynamics and really Trying to work their site as well as They can Um rather than looking elsewhere um But i think i was on a webinar recently With um with actually a lot of the clare Valley producers and they were just Saying how The world of riesling produces as and Globally is such a small family That they just seem to know each other And i think they’re not necessarily Taking tips from each other but they’re Very aware of what everyone is doing And similarly you know people in germany Aware of what’s happening in australia Versus what’s happening Um in washington state or wherever and i Thought it was that you know sort of Lovely Idea that all these leasing producers

Are just you know Sort of friends really globally Yeah i’d like to see that sort of Community of wine wine lovers and Makers across the world brilliant uh Just a couple more so Um i think in reference to the fact You’re talking about the really gentle Pressing like hand picking and dental Pressing phenolics And patrick was asking about um do they Do they use any of the press wine or is It just free one juice So again it depends on the producer um But We’re talking sort of the top producers In for example the claire they’re Definitely only using the free run But having said that i’ll give you an Example someone like grossett so his Springvale And you know the polish hill they’re all Just free run juice but he also makes a Wine called a layer which some of you Might know Which is actually very slightly off dry It’s got sort of 8 10 grams residual so Not enough that you Taste it but it gives it an extra Breadth and body and because of that he Does use a bit more of his pressing In that specific wine so i think again It comes back to wine Style more than anything else and i

Think you know particularly these people Who are now playing around A little bit with some off dry styles Or specifically going for that extra Weight and body They are using more of those pressings So sort of two different Styles i think more than anything else Brilliant um just a couple i said you Mentioned it at the beginning but i’ve Got the exact number How many regions produce riesling was it 60 40. there we go okay so a lot more than You think but we’ve just focused on the The top four this evening Um and then a question that always i Think comes up and is No sort of short answer but perhaps you Could just mention about Any impact of climate change affecting Riesling producers in particular Uh yeah i think um probably most Important in terms of australia is Access to water So places like the claire valley you Know i think at the minute they’re Limited on planting any more Vineyards generally because they only Have a certain amount of access to water And again this is why people are turning Perhaps more to things like organic and Biodynamic viticulture To try and use their water better i

Think more than anything else So i think it’s not so much as Necessarily changing viticulture Although you know they’re being very Careful in terms of canopy management And so on But it’s about that knowledge of access To water and how if they are applying it In terms of irrigation When to apply it and you know how much And that sort of thing On a border scale in terms of across Australia there’s certainly a lot more Interest In the so-called alternative varieties Or mediterranean varieties So varieties from places like southern Italy and spain and portugal and so on Because a lot of those varieties are are Very well suited To drier hotter climates um and so a lot Of people Um in places like riverland and mclaren Vale and so on Are now planting those sorts of Varieties instead perhaps of the classic Chardonnay cabernet Sarah shiraz brilliant so we’ll see Even more diversity coming from our huge Australia And just two more questions i think with The with the time we’ve got Um so just going back to we just Mentioned there’s 40 regions that

Produce riesling but Obviously we’ve kind of discussed the Key ones and ones that You do get over in the uk but are there Any others sort of up and coming or Perhaps lesser known that you Particularly would Recommend seeking out outside of Australia Um so canberra is a wine region Um where i visited the last time i was Out in australia and i was just blown Away by the rieslings there they were Really incredible Very very different to um particularly Claire and eden Are much softer much more floral but They really have an identity of their Own You know across all the different Wineries that i visited which was lovely To see So definitely keep an eye out for Canberra riesling sadly again it’s a Case of not very many come over here Um so perhaps quite hard to seek out um But yeah no something that i’m i’m Definitely going to keep an eye on Myself Brilliant and then final one um jurgen Has asked He says he usually drinks dry reasoning From austrian And german producers it’s quite new to

Australian measling so are there any Particular producers You can recommend and imagine you you Represent all of What australia produces so it might be a Little bit tricky but Perhaps if you think there’s a few kind Of classic contrasting styles to Start with yeah absolutely um well if we Go through the regions we’ve just talked About So from claire um you know absolutely Classic when we talked about grossett Jeff across its wines are absolutely Amazing you’ve also got pikes make some Amazing wines mount horrocks i talked About paulettes I mean to be honest i think with the Claire you can’t really go Far wrong um you know it tends to be a Region that’s very much Small winemakers small wineries um and The rieslings there are just outstanding Eden valley and pc vale is the one that Comes to mind um Some of my favorite um rieslings They’re contours particularly and they Release some wines Older so contours is always always Released with at least five years bottle Age on it So you’re always getting already into That kind of second Tier of riesling age which is lovely

Um across in great southern frankland Estate make some delicious wines Um and then you’ve got um plan b as well Another one to look out for because they Specifically work with off dry riesling That’s the style Um they love so um you know another Slightly different style i suppose Um some delicious wines as well that Should be a few to keep you going Definitely and you’ve definitely got my Test taste buds going so Brilliant so we’re brighton time thank You so much emma for all your insights For You know virtually transporting us to Australia and i loved some of the Snippets of information about just Just how quite big australia is and some Of the comparisons to the moon i’m going To remember though so Thank you so much for your time and Thank you to everyone that attended and All your Brilliant questions um and the recording Will be Online from tomorrow thanks so much Everyone i hope you all have a good Evening Thank you emma bye yes bye