We select a wine, in a restaurant, a bottleshop, or – so as to not show my age – online. In making this choice one considers variety, region, vintage, style as well as reputation of the brand, price, medal stickers on the bottle and personal preferences – just to name a few.
First the vines: The grapevine is a machine which converts water, carbon dioxide and sunlight into sugars and flavours. Winemakers like to pick grapes at what they consider to be optimum ripeness, a balance of sugars, acid and flavour development which best suits the wine they wish to make. In warm to hot regions such as the Murray Darling basin, many growers pour on the water (provided they get their allocation) and achieve high tonnages of grapes. This is ok as long as the machine – sorry, vine can get the grapes ripe. The vine can only produce so much flavour, high yields usually mean lower flavour intensity, and lower priced wine. The amount of water irrigators give their vines is determined by the yields they wish to achieve, and for growers who sell to wineries the yield per hectare is usually specified in the contract between grower and winery. In dry regions it is necessary to water vines, mostly via drip irrigation, to keep vines alive. In the 2019 – 2020 drought it was a source of anger and frustration for growers as they watched their vines die while precious water flowed down the Murray and other rivers in the name of “environmental flows”.
Grapes grown outside the irrigation areas are mostly watered from bores or dams. The water is applied to these vines so as to avoid stress rather than to increase yields. Dry grown vines send their roots deep into the earth seeking water, the roots of irrigated vines tend to congregate where the drip hits the ground.
Age of vines also contributes to flavours. Shiraz in particular, also Grenache, Mataro (Mouvedre) and Cabernet Sauvignon form vines over 25 – 30 years and gets a slightly “tarry” character which enhances the complexity of the wine.
Let’s consider the regions: Different grape varieties are suited to different regions. Shiraz and Chardonnay grow almost everywhere, giving a number of styles. Cooler climate Chardonnay has different flavours to high yield warm area Chardonnay. Warm area Shiraz has big, rich, in your face flavours whilst cooler grown Shiraz is often more spicy and almost “forest floor” in bouquet and mouthfeel. Compare Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale to the nearby but higher Adelaide Hills, or the north of Margaret River to the south of the same region, 90 kms distant.
Riesling likes continental climates. It can tolerate the warm days of the Clare Valley, but needs cool nights. Pinot Noir likewise enjoys continental climates, but doesn’t like it warm.
In the US Zinfandel makes a wide range of wines, the revolting sugary “blush” made from overcropped, overwatered Central Valley Zin, then some magnificent old vine Zins grown near Paso Robles between Los Angeles and San Francisco. There are a few very good Zins in Australia, their intensity of flavour is inversely proportional to vine yields.
Semillon honestly mirrors its region. In some years the early picked lower alcohol Semillons from the Hunter are fresh and lively in their youth, and develop over many years into magnificent wines. In cooler Margaret River it has grassy characters, nice on its own, or blends well with Sauvignon Blanc and occasionally a dash of Chardonnay.
Every growing season is different. Differences are caused by many climactic factors: amount of winter rains, amount of rain during the growing season, frosts, warmth of growing season, wind, pests and so on. There are many generalisations made about vintages, and many producers like to talk up every vintage. Western Australia is quite different from the eastern growing regions, where vintages are often comparable. However winemakers like to smooth out bumps by blending in material from surrounding vintages, reducing vintage differences.
Reputations are earned by making consistently good wine, by winning show medals in recognised wine shows, by favourable press, and all the other things producers do to build their brands.
Grange and Hill of Grace didn’t get their enviable and well deserved pedigree overnight – it took generations of hard yakka and excellence to achieve this.
Show medals on bottles: These are known in the trade as “silent salesmen”. Consider this: I harp back to the supermarket in last month’s article, with its two or three brands of baked beans and four brands of toothpaste, along with the supermarket brand. In a decent bottleshop there are dozens of bottles of Shiraz to ponder. A Gold Medal sticker on a bottle makes it stand out. Forget Silver or Bronze stickers! Now that sticker could be from a reputable Australian or International Wine Show, or from some overseas show where you can buy whatever medal you want. My tip: don’t leave the reading glasses in the car.
Related story: The Winemaker – Many obstacles face the new producer
