Australia – As a global wine exporter whose image is dominated, many argue tarnished, by commodity wines marketed at low retail prices, one might think the will or the ability to make fine wine has been lost or abandoned. Most argue these mass-produced commodity reds have no sense of place, finesse or structure. Vic’s there now, tasting and reviewing wines from smaller cutting-edge wineries in lesser-known wine regions—in the previous winecurrent issue it was Tasmania. If you missed it - Read it now. Those from Tasmania and the following from Victoria, are producers who are part of the movement toward cool-climate, terroir-driven fine wine that showcases balance, flavour and structure.

Tasmania is the smallest state in Australia by area and population, yet arguably produces Australia’s finest sparkling wine. The first vines were planted in 1823 and cuttings from these were used for the initial plantings in the states of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales making Tassy the oldest producing wine region in Australia. However, in less than 75 years the vines were grubbed up and fruit orchards grew in their stead. Not because of phylloxera, the entire state is phylloxera-free, but because of winery hands heading for the gold fields of Victoria and the banning of production of fortified wines.

Eight intrepid Victoria, Australia wine principals, shepherded by a representative of the Victorian government, trekked from Vancouver to Ottawa and winecurrent was there to taste the wines, learn about the region and to now share with you. The state of Victoria has a population of some six million with the capital city of Melbourne accounting for 4 million. Two of the wines tasted and reviewed below—from Blackjack—are available now in the LCBO.

By Vic Harradine

Featherstone Estate Winery has 23 acres, fully planted, on the prestigious VQA Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation. The husband and wife team of David Johnson and Louise Engel purchased their vineyard in 1999, building their winery over succeeding years selling off less and less of their crop. They now crush and bottle all the fruit under their own Featherstone label.

I read on the ‘Stellenrust – JJ Hand Made’ website that they hand-picked grapes for this wine, but was curious as to how the various other procedures in winemaking—almost always accomplished by pumps and machinery—were carried out. It was also interesting to read how they have empowered their black African workers by partnering with them on 100 acres of the 400 acre property. Here’s the email response from the wine maker just minutes before I sent off this newsletter to the webmaster for publishing. If you’re not familiar with how most commercial wine is made, and much of it is made very well, this is indeed unique and worth knowing, especially if you plan to pick up a bottle or two; I know I am—it’s a great wine and about as ‘hand made’ as you’re likely to get in a commercial wine. Besides, wine tastes better accompanied by a compelling story about it!

You’ve tasted his wines, probably more than once, and you’ll certainly recognize the ‘Hardys’ name. It’s one of Australia’s, and the wine world’s most recognizable brands. Bill Hardy—great, great grandson of founder Thomas Hardy—visited Ontario recently. Winecurrent was there to taste wine and to share the reviews and Bill’s incredible wine-related family stories with you. Not stories really, they’re chronicles, but more on that later.

Winecurrent has been approached by concerned and knowledgeable subscribers about including the level of alcohol in each wine review. Some were concerned about the obvious effect of an alcoholic beverage with 11% alcohol by volume, not an unusually low alcohol level a few years back even for a red, compared with the 16% plus behemoths we see today. Others were concerned about the effect on the taste and enjoyment of the wine. Some find high alcohol wines ‘hot’ to the taste—a result of an unbalanced level of alcohol.