Welcome then everybody to Uh wct school london’s webinar this is On discover australian shiraz um with Emma simmington mw My name is lydia harrison i’m Mw as well and an educator at doublet School london and i also organize this Program of events so we’re we’re very Happy to welcome emma back for the third In our series of australian tastings We’ve previously looked at pinot noir And riesling and if you miss those you Can watch those recordings back On our youtube channel so the wst global Channel and then there’s a school Playlist with all our previous webinars And equally we’ll be recording tonight So if you need to duck away early or you Missed something you can watch it back It will be up on our youtube channel From tomorrow And just to recap a little bit of Housekeeping so please use the chat if You would like to say hello You have a separate function for q a so Any particular questions that you would Like to put to emma as we go through Please pop them in the q a and i will Put them to her at the end of the Session You should be able to see emma and this And her slides on your screen at the Minute um but we can’t see you we won’t You won’t see any other participants so
Don’t worry And perfect i think without further ado Then i shall hand over to emma so emma Thank you very much and Introduce yourself and take it away Thanks so much lydia and hello everyone And thank you for joining us tonight So let’s just move this on here we go uh So this is me i’m emma simmington um so I work for wine australia Which is the global marketing um and Regulatory body for australian wine Obviously our head office is actually Out in australia based in adelaide but We do have a few regional offices around The world And my office is based in london and we Cover well my office covers and the Entirety of the uk europe middle east And africa so quite a big Big part of the word but essentially What i do is um Predominantly talking to people in the Uk and in europe and just getting people About excited about australian minds so Thank you so much lydia for inviting me Along tonight to talk to you about Shiraz which probably is my favorite Topic to talk about i’ll have to be Honest um so the plan for tonight um Obviously talking about shiraz but i’m Going to start off just giving you a Brief overview across australia just to Kind of set the scene um now i know any
Of you who’ve um who did the riesling Session i did back in the summer you Might have seen some of these slides so I’m not going to go into perhaps as much Detail as i did then Um but still just to set the scene And then we’ll dig straight into shiraz I’m talking a bit about Its history in australia talking a Little bit about bitter culture and Vinification but really the bulk of the Session is talking about some of the key Regions in australia And talking about the stars of shiraz They make because um one thing i often Say and for any of you who follow me on Twitter and instagram might have seen i Said this earlier Is that i believe there is no such thing As australian shiraz which sounds a bit Crazy when i’m doing a session talking To you about australian sharers but i Think in the same way we don’t talk About french pinot noir and we don’t Talk about american cabernet Because you start talking about very Specifics in terms of regions instead i Think it’s the same with australia Because it is such a huge country and There’s such a diversity of styles um Within shiraz and hopefully that’s what You’ll come away um from with today So to kick off Um and again for any of you who did the
Reasoning session or pretty much any Session i’ve done elsewhere um About australian wine you’ll have seen This slide but i love it and i include It in pretty much everything i do Because i think it so clearly shows just How big australia is and that’s so Important when it comes to really Understanding australia’s wines and the Diversity of stars it makes So as you can see australia is a vast Fast country it is obviously one country But it’s a continent-sized country as You can see it is bigger than europe So just to put some scale on this if you Flew from perth over in western Australia to across to sydney that is a Five-hour flight you’d be crossing three Time zones so it’s about a 2000 mile Journey So it’s a similar journey to flying from London to cairo And if you think if you took that flight From london to cairo how many countries You’d be crossing how many different Topographies you’d be crossing how many Different climates you’d be crossing how Many different wine regions you’d be Crossing it’s a similar picture when you Start to think about australia um so Always worth keeping in mind just how Big australia is because it really does Sort of begin to explain the diversity And styles of wines you um you’re
Getting from australia So unsurprisingly when you have such a Vast country there are a lot of wine Regions in australia there are 65 as you Can see here um and there’s no quizzes Don’t you worry But actually in terms of shiraz you’ve Got 65 regions here 60 of those plants Shiraz so um shirez is very very Important in australia and grown in Almost all of the regions across the Country But i think at this point it’s worth Pointing out that although australia is A huge country and it’s got 65 different Wine regions it’s actually not a huge Producer in terms of wine despite what You might think So in terms of viticulture in terms of Plantings and there’s about 146 000 Hectares of vineyards across australia Now that might sound like a lot but it’s Only about four percent of global Plantings or to put it another way it’s About the same as bordeaux and burgundy Put together So really not very much if you consider The size of france let alone the size of Bordeaux and burgundy put together and Cover that across australia not a huge Amount of viticulture Of course australia does really well is Export so about two-thirds of everything Australia produces in terms of wine is
Exported Um and here in the uk talking from a uk Point of view and we are the number one Export market by volume for australian Wine So something like one in every five Bottles of wine sold in the uk off trade Is australian so we see a huge amount of Australian wine over here so i think There’s often this perception that Australia produces a lot of wine but It’s not just not really true as i said It’s only about four percent of global Plantings So coming to shiraz Um and shiraz really is australia’s Calling card i suppose a bit like you Know malbec is um argentina’s calling Card very similar Um so it is as i said growing in 60 of Those regions across australia as it Says on here four out of every five Wineries and produce shiraz and it Accounts um for about 30 percent of Plantings so just under 40 000 hectares Of the vineyard in australia is shiraz So very very important um to the country It really has i think become synonymous Um with australia and just to point out I’m sure you’re all aware but just to be Clear um shiraz is of course exactly the Same grape as syrah it’s just got a Slightly different name In australia and no one quite knows why
There’s a theory that perhaps some of Those first cuttings that came across to Australia From france and from cape town Were perhaps mislabeled or whoever read The label then wrote it on um on on the Next label wrong and so wrote it is Shiraz instead of syrah other people Think it’s just that strong aussie Accent coming through i’m not sure But for whatever reason it is known in Australia as sure as predominantly of Course there are a few exceptions to the Rules some people are are labeling it Now as syrah but whatever it is Absolutely the same great variety So the history of shiraz in australia so It’s got a very long history um no one’s Sure exactly when the first finds uh the First cuttings of shiraz came out to Australia but it’s in those early 1800s So in those very early days of Viticulture in australia And quite quickly um when those cuttings Came across people realized it was Really well suited to the australian Climate and particularly in those Regions that were first planted so in Places like barossa in places like Mclaren vale And places like hunter valley um Suddenly this kind of warm dry climate Has really suited sure us very very well So quick quite quickly it found a really
Happy home in australia And you know cuttings then spread across South australia and victoria and also Across to western australia and even Down to tasmania And to this day and we’ll talk a little Bit more about this um when we get onto Barrosa But to this day there’s some incredibly Old vineyards of sharas in australia in Fact the oldest vines in the world of Shiraz are in australia in barossa Valley they were planted in 1843 so it’s Got a very very long history in Australia And in the long existing heritage of These really old vineyards that are Still producing wine Um so in those early days so in the 1800s the shiraz was planted as i said And went really well and people Producing table wine from it But then around the early 1900s there Was a sort of a bit of a change Domestically in australia and people Moved away from drinking table wine Towards drinking fortified wine and i Think again this is why shiraz sort of Has predominated in australia is because It really suited that change across to Making fortified wines so instead of Making table wine from shiraz people Started making fortified wines so port Style mostly
For shiraz in terms of fortified wines In the early 1900s And then of course there was another Change From about the 1950s and this was Actually driven by immigration from Europe after world war ii so quite a lot Of people moved across to australia After world war ii and they brought Their kind of social moors with them In terms of drinking table wine you know At dinner um With food and so then at that point Things changed again away from fortified Wine and back from table line so again That shira’s sort of changed Back to making table wine and by 1970s As it says on here became the most Popular one in the country Then of course what happens the 1980s Hits and the export boom happens this is When australia really started sending Out wine to the world And particularly to the uk and usa i Think very quickly consumers got very Excited about the style of wine that was Coming out of australia And this was predominantly for Chardonnay in terms of white wines and For shiraz in terms of red wines Because at the time if you remember A lot of wine that was drunk at the time Particularly here in the uk would have Obviously come from europe but would
Have been regionally named And a lot of it let’s be honest was Quite rustic So instead what came out from australia Were these variety label labelled wines Are labeled as shiraz or chardonnay And which were quite different so really Fruit forward Quite voluptuous Um quite full-bodied an opulence quite Different to the style of wine that was Produced in europe at the time And you know consumers here and Particularly in the states got very very Excited about these wines and this is What really started that export boom out Of australia And then sort of end of the 90s into the 2000s a guy who you might have heard of Called robert parker Came onto the scene and he really caused Quite a major effect in australia and in Particular in some other i suppose more Classic warmer climate regions like Barossa like mclaren vale Because he started giving huge points You know 98 99 100 points to really big Blockbuster wines so the sort of wines Where the grapes were left for a long Time long hang time so you’re getting Sort of 15 55 Alcohol but really rich really Concentrated lots and lots of ripe Fruits
But also asian a lot of new oak So this is the sort of wine he liked and Consumers therefore liked it because They liked you know being able to buy These high parker point wines and it Sort of became a self-perpetuating cycle So that’s really what happened through Sorry through the 2000s these really big Blockbuster stars are sure as But of course in the last 20 years again That’s changed and there’s been a real Move to I think not necessarily just insurance But actually across australian wine in Total so we’ll move to freshness and This hunt for balance And i think that’s actually been driven Quite a lot domestically by consumers in Australia Because if you remember australia is a Hot country um and so you know people Drinking wine quite often drinking it Outside With a lot of the lovely fish and Produce and so on that you get in Australia And what they really want to have with That kind of food is lighter styles of Wine and so there’s been this real drive For freshness and i think we’re seeing That across all regions in australia and Not just the cool climate regions but Also In these you know traditional warmer
Climate regions in places like barossa So there’s been this move away from that Kind of big blockbuster style people are Edging back in terms of oaks certainly Not using anywhere near as much new york As they used to moving towards larger Format oak and allowing that lovely Fruit to show through So that’s kind of where we are in shiraz These days So just a quick overview of viticulture In terms of sures So assurance is a very vigorous fine It needs it does need careful pruning um Just to control that bigger because Otherwise you can get very high yields Which does sort of um decrease quality Uh so that’s one thing always to Remember with with shiraz but it is a Highly adaptable vine it can grow in a Lot of different soils and a lot of Different climates and i think again This is why it’s done so well in Australia it’s been able to adapt to all Sorts of different climates of course as I said it kind of started in those Warmer climate traditional regions But it is now grown across australia From hot regions to warm regions even Cold regions so tasmania for example Which is particularly known for Chardonnay and pinot noir both in terms Of still wine and sparkling also make Some amazing shiraz or syrah as many
People label it So it is a great variety that can sort Of adapt itself to a number of different Climates Um in terms of soils in shallow soils it Doesn’t do too well it needs some Irrigation but in deeper soils it really Can be dry grown it can root very deeply And find water And you know being a mediterranean Variety it doesn’t need as much water as Some others So even in places like barossa for Example which is a warm climate region They do have some deep soils there so Actually a lot of particularly the older Vineyards in barossa do tend to be dry Grown and don’t need irrigation because These lions can i can root quite deeply And then in terms of winemaking i think Shiraz is quite an interesting variety For a wine maker because there’s all Sorts of different techniques Wine makers can choose to use to Influence what resulting style as sure As they create And i think a lot of these Can also be driven by kind of consumer Trends around the world So things we’re seeing quite a bit off Lately are things like whole bunch Fermentation or stem inclusion we’re Sure as i think particularly in some of The cooler climate regions we’re
Beginning to see you know maybe only 10 20 In terms of the whole wine so just a Little bit of whole bunch But what it tends to give Is a little bit more tannin um and i Always find particularly with whole Bunch of fermentation we tend to get More aromatics more kind of lifted Aromatics and perhaps a little bit more Herbal But in general it accentuates freshness And that feeling of freshness and a wine And coming back to what i was saying Earlier about this sort of drive from Consumers in australia i think this is Partly why there has been this move by Some wine makers to begin experimenting With more whole bunch of fermentation Insurers And so that you know as you can see here There’s all sorts of things winemakers Can do to experiment with sure us Carbonic maceration to make a really Easy easy drinking early drinking Stylish eras you know various people Playing around with different sorts of Wild fermentation to add complexity Um co-fermentation with biannie uh now This is an interesting one and perhaps We’ll come back to when i’m talking About canberra in a few minutes because That’s kind of where that really started But essentially you’re co-fermenting
With the white grape variety and Traditionally beyonce from the north Northern rome but it doesn’t have to be Beyond yay And you’re co-fermenting really to fix The color in the right wine so you tend To get a deeper color when you’re using This technique but you also tend to get More lifted aromatics And i say it doesn’t have to be vioni Because i’ve certainly come across some Shiras from australia which is Co-fermented with reselling for example Um instead of beyony but it has that Same effect And then of course winemakers can play Around with how long they leave the Shiraz on the skins before they press it Off so the longer on the stains tends to Um Sort of soften off those tannins Um and then oak maturation and again This is where these sort of consumer Trends um globally are playing a part in What winemakers are choosing to do as i Said back in the 2000s the robert parker Effect winemakers very much were Choosing to go for small barriques um Quite a lot of new oaks so having quite A lot of oak influence in the wine Whereas now many people are moving away From new oak and perhaps also to larger Format oak So things like hogs heads or punches or
Even big foods And then you of course you’ve got the Choice of type of oak many people are Using french american is very classic Particularly in the warmer regions Places like barossa and claire people Tend to be using american oak but again A pulling back from that new oak i’m so Using old format barrels So all different sorts of things why Makers can choose to do um to influence The shiraz and the style of shiraz they Make Um but of course shiraz Obviously often is a varietal wine Coming out of australia but it can be Blended Um so i suppose there’s probably two Really classic um blends of shiraz Coming out of australia one being an sgm Or a gsm so shiraz with grenache and More veg so that classic kind of Southern rhone um blend Again grenache and more of ahead were Grapes that were introduced quite early Into australia and along with shiraz did Very well in these some of these warm Climate regions um partly as well Because they were very well suited to Making fortified wine in those sort of Early 1900s times But now quite often are blended together Um and the other kibra um key blend Sorry that shiraz is a part of is what’s
Called known as the great australian red So that is shiraz blended with cabernet Sauvignon Now of course in bordeaux cabernet is Blended with merlot um and you know what People often say is that merlot fills That hole in cabernet so it adds that Kind of juiciness to the structure of Cabernet And shiraz in australia plays exactly The same role of merlot So again it’s adding that juiciness that Lovely fruitiness to the structure of Cabernet sauvignon so you have either Shiraz cabernet blends or cabernet Shiraz lens Which is a very classic and iconic Australian blend So shiraz regions and i have to say i Said this to lydia earlier when we were Just chatting that pulling together this Presentation was quite tricky because When you’ve got 60 wine regions across Australia that produce shiraz and you Know they’re all making their own Individual style of shiraz But i was very aware that we’ve only got An hour so there was no way i was going To be able to cover everything i wanted And this is really just a very small Subsection of the readings i could be Talking about But given that we only have an hour i’ve Decided just to focus on five of the
Kind of key regions for sure as in Australia Covering the key states so i have to say I have taken tasmania out as i said they Do make some amazing characters in Tasmania but it is very small in terms Of production Um so what we’re going to cover now is Starting with barossa because i think it Probably is the best known region in Australia for shiraz And then we’re going to talk about two Regions actually in new south wales Being the hunter valley in canberra To give well i suppose hunter is that Very historic Um region and then canberra is much more Modern In victoria i’m going to talk to you About the grampians region um being a Relatively high altitude altitude Slightly cooler climate style um and Then across in western australia and We’re going to finish up talking about Great southern so hopefully between Those all Um that will give you some idea of the Diversity in terms of styles that she Has produced but also in terms of the Climates and topographies and so on Across australia So we’re going to start off talking About the barasa because i said it Really is australia’s oldest and
Probably best known shiraz region Now just to be clear in case anyone’s Not aware the barossa is a zone And it is comprised of the barossa Valley and the eden valley So as you can see here that brussels Valley and eden valley they’re both Regions they’re both gis as it is in Australia geographic indications um but They’re next to each other so they’re Contiguous they share a border Now the barossa valley Is the classic valley floor so lower Lying quality floor very much a Mediterranean climate you know hot warm Summers cold winters perfect you know Perfect place really for growing sures The eden valley on the other hand is not A valley just to be confusing it’s Actually an elevated plateau that sits Sort of alongside but above The barossa valley It’s a higher in altitude so it’s cooler Because of that it’s also much windier So it really catches the wind us which Again cools the temperature So it’s very much the cooler part or Half of the barossa So the reason it’s a zone and the reason I say this is quite often on a wine Bottle you’ll just see the word barossa And not barossa valley and what that Means is the winemaker kind of Blended grapes together from the
Barrasso valley and the eden valley in Any proportion So it might be 80 barossa valley 20 eden Valley it might be 70 30 it might be 50 50. it’s entirely up to the wine maker If it’s labeled as barossa Now of course if it’s labeled as barossa Valley this is when the 85 percent rule Kicks in so it’s got to be 85 percent Borussia valley floor Fruit and it can be fifteen percent of Something else just like regions across Europe So it’s just slightly different with That zone um being the brussels And the reason you have this zone and The reason you quite often actually see It On wine labels is because winemakers Really like the ability to blend between These two regions Because if you think you’ve got this Barossa valley floor which as i said is Warmer it’s lower lying so this is where You get that very um classic barossa Valley fruit from that real generous Fruit That’s quite almost quite opulent very Rich concentrated The eden valley on the other hand still Quite a bit of sure has grown there but It’s higher and cooler so it tends to be More restrained tends to be a bit more Structured so a bit more tannin and it
Particularly has higher acidity so by Blending those two together The wine makers often think they get a More complete wine or more complex wine So this is why you quite often just see The word the ross on the label So anyway so the brother is as you can See sort of north west of adelaide it’s Like an hour hour and a half drive And it was originally planted in 1842 And originally settled actually by um Lutheran germans And so if you go there and i don’t know If anyone has been there it’s still very Germanic um it still has a real germanic Culture to this day so a lot of the Place names are germanic a lot of the Family names surnames are germanic Some people still speak german there and There’s also quite a real german Influence i think to the food culture Actually in barossa there’s lots of Sausages and cold meats and all that Kind of thing So it is a very historic wine region Um now this and i’ve got this for some Of the other regions we’re going to talk About as well so this is actually taken From our remote satellite imaging Software so all the dark green you can See on here is actually the vineyards so This gives you a really good idea of i Suppose how widely planted The regions are and actually where the
Vineyards are within each region So as you can see the rosso valley Itself is pretty widely planted there’s Just over 9 000 hectares of vineyard in The rosso valley so it is actually one Of the bigger regions in australia The eden valley on the other hand as you Can see sits right alongside Much more sparsely planted so there’s Far fewer plantings in eden valley it’s About 2 000 hectares in comparison This also picks out hyden Which is a designated sub region of the Eden valley and the clues in the name Here is the highest part of the eden Valley so getting up to about 550 metres Um so very much the coolest part of the Eden valley and that’s really where you Get a lot of very high quality riesling In particular grain So just uh as a reminder so the barossa Valley itself as i said mediterranean Climates now the altitude this is Actually a little bit confusing um Because that’s sort of the absolute Maximum a minimum in the region but in Reality the vast majority of vineyards Are planted at about 250 to 300 meters In the barossa valley so it is that you Know lower lying valley floor The eden valley on the other hand still Has a mediterranean climate so it’s Still quite warm in the daytime they’re Definitely cooler than the barossa
Valley but very much cooler at night and It does have this cooling influence of Those breezes as well and as you can see Much higher in altitude And i think this picture just gives you Quite a nice idea of that difference in Altitude Because the vineyards you’re seeing in Front of you that is the barossa valley Floor so the lower lying very much Mediterranean climate the tops of those Hills that’s where the eden valley is And i can tell you if you do that drive Up the hills you can really feel the Difference in temperature you know You’re pretty hot down in the drosser Valley you get out the top of the eden Valley you want to put you know another Layer on it is that much cooler and Windier So just give you an idea of what that Means in terms of great growing vintage Is at least three weeks later in the Eden valley as opposed to the barossa Valley so that is you know the season is That much longer up in the eden valley And because of that cooler climate And this is just a picture up in the Eden valley so as i said not a valley at All you know it’s it is an elevated Plateau but there’s lots of different Topographies lots of different aspects Um and as i said much more sparsely Planted
Now the other thing that’s certainly Worth uh mentioning about the barossa is Their old vine charter because globally It’s a very special region in that they Actually have this albine charter so They actually Characterize Um their old vines and you know they’re All kept on a register Um so this was set up back in 2009 And i think it’s quite amazing and i Kind of wish the whole of australia Would adopt this because i think it’s so Simple Um but so incredible to be able to put This on a bottle um you know to share With consumers So the way the charter works is as you Can see very simple so any vineyard That’s 35 years or more old is Classified as an old fine vineyard Anything 70 euro years or more old is a Survivor vine anything 100 years or more Old is a centenarian vine and anything 125 years or more old is an ancestor Vine and if you just start to think About the history some of these old Wines have seen i think it’s quite Incredible Um so just to put some figures on here Just to put this into context a little Bit So i said earlier ambrose i think in Total across barossa valley and eden
Valley’s got about 11 000 hectares of Vineyard two and a half thousand of that Is classified as old mines so that’s About 20 of the region And 250 hectares is classified as Centenarian vines or more 250 hectares is more than 100 years old I mean it’s just mind-boggling really And quite very very special for the Barossa As i said earlier the oldest vineyard in The world of shiraz is in the barossa uh That is langmail’s freedom vineyard and That was planted in 1843 And the bros is very lucky because it’s Also got a number of very old vineyards All the oldest vines in the world of Other great varieties too it’s the Oldest grenache is there and the barossa That was planted in 1850 The oldest more bed is in the in the World is in barossa that was planted in 1853. the oldest cabernet sauvignon is In the barossa and that was planted in 1888 so it still has this incredible Repository of very old vines which are Obviously ungrafted planted on their own Rootstock there’s no philosopher in South australia um just incredible um Part of the world really to be able to Go and visit all these old wine Vineyards So in terms of shiraz um as i said um Barasa you know barossa valley
Particularly is that mediterranean Climate so you do always get this Generosity of fruit coming out of ross Ashara’s this kind of opulence if you Will on power But as i said Um i think there has been a move away From i suppose the blockbuster style Towards something a bit fresher so People many viticulturists are picking a Little bit earlier than perhaps they did Just to retain a little bit of that Balance But you still always will have this rich Core of barossa fruit that is very very Specific to the region Okay for our second region Just check the time i think we’re doing Okay uh we’re going to move across to New south wales to the hunter valley So the hunter Is really one of the very historic Regions in australia So i don’t know if you all know of a guy Called james busby He was a scottish horticulturalist Actually he moved out to australia in 1820 And then became interested in Viticulture And then somehow he got the most amazing Job in the world he was sent back to France and spain and spent six months Traveling the wine regions of france and
Spain taking cuttings of different Grapevines And he ended up with cuttings of Hundreds of different varieties i think He had something like 600 different Cuttings In total by the time he came back they Were all packaged up individually and Brought back to sydney with him and at That point they were divided into two Half were planted in sydney in what is Now the botanic gardens so if anyone’s Been to sydney you know what i mean And the other half james took up to his Property called kirkton park which was In the hunter valley So this is why the hunters really want To The most historic historic wine region Um in australia so he planted those Cuttings at his property the fires were Propagated on and then further cuttings Were taken and those were then sold and Sent across australia and to this day Many viticulturalists will sort of talk About having busby cuttings in their Vineyards Or having busby clones because they can Sort of trace that genetic heritage back To these original cuttings that james Brisbane brought out with him so he was A really important person In i suppose australian wine history And was based as i said in the hunter
Valley But i think the interesting thing about The hunter valley is if you looked at Its vital stats on paper It’s really not where you choose to grow Grapes and certainly not where you think You’d be making amazing wine because It’s subtropical It’s hot It’s humid and you get rain at vintage So really not somewhere you’d think Would be making amazing wine But it’s kind of a conundrum the hunter Because of these crazy climatic Characteristics is the reason it makes Some amazing wine So as i said it’s hot it’s subtropical But As you can sort of pick out from this Map it’s on the great dividing range now The great dividing range is a massive Mountain range that runs right down the Eastern seaboard Of australia and pretty much all the Wine regions are on the western side of The great dividing range because then They’re in its rain shadow so they don’t Get any of the weather systems that come Down this eastern seaboard because all The rain falls on the great dividing Range and they are in its range header On the other side The hunter valley though is on the wrong Side of the rate dividing range it’s on
The eastern side which means it it sort Of gets all of these storms that come Down this eastern seaboard Which is these like Late um summer vintage rains i was Talking about but it also means the Great dividing range captures all the Cloud cover so although the hunter Valley is hot it’s also very very cloudy Which means it limits the amount of uv That can actually get through to the Grapes so there’s a hot region actually It’s got very slow ripening which is Fascinating i think And then because you get these late sort Of summer vintage rains actually the Wine makers tend to pick quite early so It’s one of the early regions earliest Regions in australia start harvest Usually sort of january february time so Because of that the shiraz as we’re Talking about shiraz that is made always Tends to be quite low in alcohol for Sure as in australia so we’re talking Sort of 13 percent as opposed to out in Barossa that i was just talking about You’re normally more like 14 So lower in alcohol in the hunter Because they’re picking earlier so the Grapes aren’t as ripe and because of This very much cloud cover the grapes Aren’t ripening so much on the vine so You don’t get this kind of generosity of Fruit in fact you get a much more
Savoury restrained style Of shiraz that comes out of it which is Just fascinating i think So this is the hunter it is quite a big Region as you can see in terms of size But as you can see in terms of vineyard Area there’s actually very little and It’s mostly around the colvin As you can see which is sort of pushed Up against the broken back ranges so Only just in land Uh so in terms of climate and altitude As i said it’s subtropical there’s not Really a lot to talk about in terms of Altitude in the hunter valley and Certainly not enough to really give any Kind of cooling influence Um But i think this is quite a useful photo To show you because it i hope it shows You just what i’ve been talking about in Terms of that cloud cover and if you Look at it you know this is not wispy Cloud this is quite thick gray cloud and This is absolutely typical for what you See throughout the growing season and The hunter so that’s really moderating That uv that sunlight intensity which is Why you have much slower ripening in the Hunter than you might otherwise expect You know with the daytime temperatures Which are 35 40 easily in the summer and The hunter Now the other thing that’s worth
Pointing out in this photo and a nice Thing to remember for the hunter is the Soil Because there’s two different soil types In the hunter valley You tend to get whiter lighter paler Sandier soils and then you get these What you’ve got here these darker redder Clay soils and it’s a really easy one to Remember because white grapes like Semion are grown on generally grown on Those lighter paler sandia soils and the Red grapes like shiraz are grown on Those redder clay soils So quite a nice one to remember there So as i said in terms of shiraz um for Hunter it does tend to be that much more Savoury style Tends to be lower in alcohol a bit Brighter in terms of acidity And i think it’s always a great one to Pull out if people Only ever think of australian insurers Like barossa shiraz this is a really Good style to pull out and just to Surprise people because i think quite Often it’s not what people are expecting From australia and again this is what i Came back to at the beginning there’s no Such thing as australians sure as Because i think if you had this side by Side with the barossa they are just two Totally different styles i’m sure as and A really nice comparison
And then the second region i wanted to Talk about from new south wales Is canberra district so as i said the Hunter valley very historic Canberra on the other hand very modern Okay they did have some very early Plantings back in the 1800s But that was all ripped out in the early Um Early 20th century and it wasn’t until 1971 that really modern viticulture Started so it is a very modern region Um again inland and up in the great Dividing range but this is one of the Regions which is on the right side of The great dividing range by which i mean The western side So it’s in the rain shadow so it doesn’t Get affected by any of these summer Storms It’s about what a three hour drive in Land from sydney As it’s been said to me i have been to Camera i flew there Because then as ozzie told me it’s the Most boring drive in the world get on a Plane so i did But i really enjoy going to the canberra District i think it’s an interesting one It’s very small actually in terms of Viticulture there’s only still about 250 Hectares there But it’s really very quickly made a name For itself in terms of shiraz
And that’s partly down to a wiry called Clonakilla Now i don’t know if any of you know um Flonakilla it’s quite quite famous these Days particularly for their shiraz Vionier blend So colonial killer was started up in the 1970s By a research scientist actually who Decided he was going to plant a vineyard So he did And then his son tim kirk um was Actually originally um planning to be a Priest But got quite interested in you know the Family wine making then he went out to Coke roti in i think it was 1992 and Tasted some classic coke roti that had Been co-fermented with you know cyril With fiona and got really excited about It and realized that his dad on their Vineyard had planted vianye as well as Shiraz so he went home And persuaded his dad to let him have a Bit of a play a bit of an experiment and To do some co-fermentation of shiraz and Bianye so he’s the first person in Australia that made this style and very Very quickly it found critical acclaim Suddenly everyone was just blown away by This wine and it really is a modern cult Classic now and i think it’s that wine That’s really put canberra district on The wine map in terms of australia
Um so as i said it is is still a very Much an emerging wine region um you know There’s only 250 hectares but it’s Particularly becoming known for its Shiraz Um it is high altitude so it’s up in the Great dividing range as i said up to About 800 meters So because of that you’ve got the Influence of elevation cooling the Climate now that’s not to say it’s a Cold climate because it’s not in the Daytime in the summer you’re looking at 30 35 degrees But because of that influence of Elevation as soon as the sun sets the Temperature will plummet so it’s got a Very big diurnal variation so you might Be 30 35 degrees in the daytime in the Summer you’re probably dropping to 15 Even 10 degrees at night so a really big Diet or variation And what that means in terms of great Wrapping is the grapes are going to Ripen really happily all day but as soon As the sun sets and that temperature Drops it’s going to stop ripening so That keeps all that lovely freshness and Acidity In the grapes So this is a view across canberra and You can see is very different to the Hunter valley Particularly the sky so here we have
Absolutely clear blue sky and that is Totally typical of canberra pretty much All summer Very very high sunshine hours very Strong sun intensity And because you’re at high altitude very High uv levels so it’s a little bit um Like in the andes with malbec so you’ve Got this very high uv levels Um and what that does in terms of the Grapes in terms of ripening is it really Sort of fixes the color so you always Get very deep color From camera shiraz Lots and lots of flavor compounds um and It also um Really acts to what so i want to soften The tannins so you always get a lot of Tannins um in canberra but they’re very Very soft because of the action of this Uv So that’s absolutely classic of cambra Shearers deep in color But very soft really supple luscious Tannins And personally i always find a real lift In terms of aromatics From canberra style shiraz that lovely Kind of violet notes which i really Associate with this kind of high Altitude vineyard area So for our next region we’re in victoria The state of victoria and we’ve moved Right down the other end of the great
Dividing range Down to a region called the grampians so This is really the foothills of the Great dividing range Um but you still obviously got some Influence of elevation here So nowhere near as much as canberra um So certainly not as cool in terms of That diana variation as canberra is um From the grampians is maybe up to about 400 meters but still enough to have a Cooling influence but as you can see you Are much closer here to the ocean So there is also a real maritime Influence in the grampians and Remembering the ocean that sits off the Southern part of australia is that very Very cold southern ocean So you get all these very cold breezes That kind of push in land to help Moderate that temperature too So the grampians again is a region That’s not hugely planted but it is very Historic uh it was originally planted in Sort of mid-1800s And again there’s a region that has got Very old vineyards of shiraz i think Um you know back to the 1860s if i Remember 1817’s perhaps um from best to Base in this great western sort of Sub-region of the grampians But the reason i wanted to include it is I push on more or more Is this
Um and this is a granite outcrop which Is very specific to the grampians and if We remember from the northern rhone you Know shiraz or syrah has got a real Affinity for granite And it’s an interesting one in australia Because as i said it’s a huge country And it’s very diverse in terms of its Soil types and geologies I mean if you look at mclaren vale Mclaren vale has 40 different geologies Under 19 different soil types hugely Diverse And it’s similar across the whole of Australia But what australia doesn’t have very Much of in fact is granite So the grampians is really special Because it has this real granite outcrop And as i said um shiraz and granite have This real affinity so unsurprisingly uh The key great variety planted in the Grampians is Shiraz um and the other interesting Thing about the grampians is actually The vineyard we’re looking at here this Is mount lanny sharan And back in 2007 the australian wine Research institute the awri did some Research actually based at this at this Vineyard Because at the time a lot of people were Talking about a particular character Insurers but no one knew where that came
From and the character they were talking About was black pepper I mean at the time no one had any idea What this compound was insurance um so The awri decided to research this and They based their research at mount Maggie duran Because it was a wine that was Particularly well known for having this Black pepper flavor And what they discovered was a compound Called rotundone And rotundo in fact is exactly the same Compound that is found in black pepper Itself so quite literally when you’re Tasting black pepper and sure as you are Tasting black pepper it’s exactly the Same compound The other interesting thing they Discovered about rotundo Was that one in five people so 20 Percent of people are a nosmic to it That means they can’t smell it and they Can’t taste it And i think this is absolutely Fascinating I mean of course everyone has different Anos you know some people are much more Able to taste and smell certain things Or less good at other things that’s just How our genetic makeup works but Actually to have a full 20 percent of People um unable to smell or taste Retundant is is very very high um so you
Know in true wine geek style i find that Fascinating And that so what they also discovered About rotundo is that the cooler the Cooler sites of the vineyard produce More rotundo and so it really is The black pepper flavor is something you Get in cooler climates shiraz Um so unsurprisingly um grampy and Shiraz is is one of those styles um Coming out of australia where you do Tend to get this real black pepper note Coming through But they do also tend to be quite Intense and concentrated in terms of you Know black fruit flavor too But with this cool climate kind of spicy Peppery flavor coming through as well And then the final region i wanted to Just talk to you about is great southern So great southern is across in western Australia so we’ve probably Just flown about 1 500 miles across from The grampians so again a huge distance Remembering how big australia is Across to western australia The great southern is quite often Referred to as one of the most isolated Wine regions on the planet it’s about a Five hour drive south of perth so you Really have to want to go there um to go There i’d say i’ve never been i’m i’m Longing to go to great southern it’s Probably top of my bucket list of
Regions i haven’t yet been to in Australia As you can see it is a really big region It’s about 150 kilometers wide by about 100 kilometers north to south Um and because of that it has been Divided into five sub-regions as you can See here Um but again uh looking at the um Satellite imaging you can see there’s Not a huge amount of plantings in great Southern i think it’s about two and a Half thousand hectares across that vast Distance um so not um not a huge not Hugely planted region And it’s an interesting one because of This huge size Um and because of the differences in Terms of topography and particularly um The maritime influence on the coast These sub-regions are all very different To each other So you’ve got denmark and albany right Down on the coast so very much maritime Influence very cool climate because You’ve got that um cooling influence of The southern ocean So those are two sub-regions in great Southern that are particularly well Known for chardonnay and pinot noir You then move inland a little bit up to Mount barker and the parangaroops You tend to get more riesling there Actually so it’s a little bit further
Inland so a little bit warmer because of That Um and then moving inland again you come Up to franklin river and this is really The sub-region that’s particularly well Known for shiraz So as you can see it’s further inland so More continental in terms of climate but It’s also more elevated you’re up to About 400 meters again here in terms of Elevation so some cooling influence from Elevation in the franklin river So this just sort of um quickly shows Those differences as i said albany and Denmark very much maritime and moving More continental as you move inland And this is just a view this is actually Franklin estate um in the franklin river Um sub region And as i as i said earlier you can see It is very sparsely planted in terms of Vineyards and that you can see the Vineyards just around the winery here But then you can’t really see anything Else it’s all kind of open countryside Farmland and lots and lots of these big Maori trees which these huge euclips You get down in great southern So in terms of shiraz uh great southern As i said is a cool climate region so it Does tend to be that kind of tauter more Restrained uh style of shiraz um Quite different actually to the regions We’ve talked about already i’d say much
More Cooler climate a little bit more higher In acidity perhaps and probably a bit More structured as well um A little bit sterner in terms of the Tannin and probably more red fruited So i think that’s really the five key Regions i wanted to talk to you about And i hope that really gave you a Snapshot of what i said at the beginning That there’s no such thing as australian Shiraz because you know you go to Barossa you have these big rich Voluptuous styles which you can kind of Sink into you know then you’re into Hunter which you think is subtropical But actually gives you these very Restrained medium bodied styles then You’re up into the canberra district Which is high altitude so deep in color Um but you know that lovely lifted Aromatics that you get out of camera Down to the grampians again tall climate But much more that kind of spicy peppery Style um and then right across here to Great southern um which you’ve got Probably a bit more structure and a bit More acidity going on so all very very Very different um in terms of style And certainly all ones it’s worth Comparing back to back at some point if You ever get the chance So i think that’s just about everything I wanted to cover off in terms of shiraz
Um but just before i passed back to Lydia i thought it’s worth pointing out Um Our Education resource website which we set Up oh a couple of years ago now It’s called australianwidediscover.com You have to register to use it but once You’ve done that everything is totally Free um to download and use as you see Fit So there’s study guides in there there’s Well there’s information about all the Key regions and all the key varieties There’s information about sort of Broader topics like old mines and Sparkling wine there’s as i said the Study guides there’s maps there’s video Content Kind of everything you would want to Learn about australia is here um and Free to use so particularly for anyone Studying pure exams um make a note of That because i think it should be really Your one stop shop for everything to do With australia And with that lydia i think i shall hand Back to you Excellent thank you emma and if you just Perhaps wanted to flip the slide on one More slide because i’m just briefly Going to mention we’ve got another Australian event coming up at wst school London um which is a virtual tasting so
It’s still via zoom but it’s a tasting If you’re based in the uk we send out Four half bottles of wine for the little Phone wine company the cost is per Screen so um you can share that cost you Can share the wines if you want to with Your housemates or friends or whatever And that’s in a couple of weeks so the Uh 11th of november at 7pm but you need To book by the first of november so we Have time to Send the wines out for you so if you if You’re interested again you can find That on our website under tastings and Events so just if you’re interested in Australian wine i wanted to To highlight that for you And great and so finally i just thought We’ll go through a couple of the Questions that have come through in the Q a for for emma and if anyone has any Final questions please pop them in the q A but i’ll just ask you a couple so Uh Thank you emma was there and the first Question was actually about fortified Wines and are they still producing Fortified shiraz in shiraz So um Yeah actually there is a bit produced Nowhere near as much as there once was Obviously you know people have now moved Away from fortified wine and Predominantly making table wine but
There definitely is still some fortified Shiraz made in that what was called Vintage port of course they can’t call That anymore um but yeah you definitely Do get fortified shiraz um i’m trying to Think off top of my head i know Derenberg make one Um and there’s certainly some other People in borussia medlervale who do the Same as well Yeah i think and separates fields was Mentioned yeah and i remember tasting One at pemfield’s as well i don’t know If it was solely shiraz but there was Definitely yeah i’m pretty sure theirs Is shiraz and grenache um yes they make More of a tawny style which is malicious Yeah Brilliant um another question that came When you were talking about the sort of Revolution and Different trends or sort of emergence And different styles of Shiraz um and the person asked do you Find that it’s become difficult for Older producers to move along with the Times and adapt to the palette of the Consumer or is it more Along the lines of producers pushing a New experimental style onto the consumer Good question um I would say a bit of both um i think the Joy about australia is because there’s No real legal restrictions like there
Are in europe so producers are able to Experiment more and i think in general Australians still have that kind of Pioneering spirit to them um so they do All like to experiment and try new Things i think in general they’re not You know stuck in their ways and doing The same thing year in year out Um there’s also you know the next Generation coming through In terms of winemakers you know people Taking over from you know older family Members Which i think is also moving on in terms Of styles But it’s not to say there’s not those Traditional sort of bigger styles of Shiraz made because they definitely are And there are you know wineries which Very much do that and they revel in it And they do very very well out of it but I think there’s just a perhaps a Broadening um of different people trying To make sure us in different ways Brilliant and yeah as i agree with what You said about you know you can’t really Just say australian shiraz anymore There’s there’s so much variety Um great um you were talking about the Age of fines that definitely captured Some people’s um attention and Particularly in south australia and and We have a question about is there a Relationship between the age of the vine
And the training system used Oh good question Um So I’m not actually sure in terms of shiraz I think you know a lot of these fine the Original vines would have been planted As for bush fines now particularly in Terms of shira’s many of them have been Trained on a sort of a single wire Um Grenache though on the other hand There’s a lot of very old vine grenache In australia and a lot of that is still Grown as bush vines So you know individual gobbler um But yeah this i’m trying to think of the Old vine shiraz i’ve seen when i’ve been Out in barossa it is generally just on a Sort of very simple single um Single wire more than anything else just To give a bit of support um but not a Kind of full training system Brilliant and just a couple more to go And so um Again i think your comments about Rotundo really really resonated with People And they also then asked well what gives Rise to the leathery sweaty saddle Aromas Well that’s a good one because That is something that people used to Talk about a long a while ago
Particularly in hunter valley the Classic flavor was um a leathery sweaty Saddle um but i think that predominantly Was they had a bit of a breath problem For a while in the hunter and certainly All the hunter sure as i’ve tasted over The last years you don’t get that at all That you know the sweatiness i suppose The leatheriness i think absolutely that Plays into that more restrained kind of Savoury style um but i certainly don’t See um perhaps the leftover brat that You did once have In any Yeah i always think of sweat as being More negative and leather is probably More positive yeah Brilliant um so final question oh Actually it’s a double um When and how did you develop a passion For australian wine Um And Well it’s a little bit of a broad one I’m not sure if you have a sort of short Update but it’s about the situation with Chinese tariffs on australian wine if There’s any local update on that and Sorry if that’s a little bit off topic You can we can that’s fine uh the china One to be honest i don’t think there is Any update it’s that’s just the way it Is um sadly um Yeah that’s what it is with china um in
Terms of my passion for australia i mean I’ve been working for wine australia for Nearly 10 years now which seems kind of Crazy uh it’s gone very quickly and Before i moved toward in australia i was In retail i’m working in retail in the Uk um for a very good independent in London and tasted incredible wine from All over the world But one of the ones that just stood out For me you know when you i was very Lucky it’s going to sound awful now name Dropping totally but you know when You’re able to try all the first growths And you know top top top burgundy and You know the best italian ones you can Get your hands on and so on But i tried hillar brace and i think it Was the 1982 vintage don’t quote me on That i might be wrong but anyway it Absolutely blew me out the water and at The time you know i knew a bit about Australian wine but nothing like i know Now and i just remember it kind of Stopped me in my tracks Um and to for a while to do that when i Was exposed to so many incredible wines Really kind of made me sit up and listen And then i um got the job with white Australia and i’m very lucky i used to Go well before i covered i used to go Out to australia or every 18 months or So and just going out there and being in The wine regions and talking to the wine
Makers and let me tell you the aussies Are the most incredible group of people In terms of wine makers they’re so open So welcoming so Willing to share all their knowledge um And yeah it just made me totally fall in Love with the country and the people Thank you i’m sure you’ve made a few People just by a long lived answer Just the thought of being able to travel To australia Um but if we can’t get there in person You did mention earlier but um someone Was also asking will the australian day Tasting happen in january in 2022 in London We are hoping so Very much the plan um you know i feel Like at the minute in life you can’t Plan too far ahead because you know What’s going to happen but absolutely All things being well it will happen in January and is there a place that’s best For people to find out about that or uh Good question um at the minute we’re Still talking to wineries and signing People up and that kind of stuff as soon As um we’re ready to um announce that we Will via our newsletter or go on the you Know wsta trade diary website all the Usual places you hear about our events It will be announced Brilliant Perfect well thank you so much emma for
Another incredibly informative Um and exciting look in australia it I think it’s so good to sort of look at Some of the classic regions like barossa But also some that you know so much less Than known like like franklin river so Um it’s just a shame we don’t have three Hours and we can talk about all of the 60 regions And But thank you so much there’s lots of People are thanking thank you on your Chat for you for your brilliant Presentation and thank you for myself And the wsd school london for for Sharing that with us And um yes the recording will be up up Live tomorrow Great thank you so much for having me It’s been a pleasure