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Australia is an enormous wine-producing country with over
1,000 wineries. Australia's selections are vast due
to the hundreds of very specific microclimates. Australia
discovered that user friendly wines retaining the inherent
flavor of the grape, produced at a good value, makes for
a formula success. Traditional methods, minimal handling
and the finest of French Oak barrels are the secret of success
to producing exceptional wines.
Australia's major wine regions are in the southern
coastal areas of South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales,
and Western Australia. South Australia is the leader of
the pack with the regions of Clare Valley, Barossa, McLaren
Vale, and Coonawarra.
Coonawarra has three soil types. The region is famed for
its superb red and white wines, produced on the districts
terra rosa soil. The red soil is spread over a limestone
base, which provides excellent drainage, deep rooting and
deep soil moisture storage. The southern location and cool
ripening season permits late picking and produces a superior
flavour and acid balance in the grapes juice. Coonawarra
is a region brilliantly suited to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz
and Merlot.
Australia was first known for its' Cabernet, loaded with
sweet, ripe fruit and the spiceness of oak and their succulent
Chardonnays loaded with gobs of tropical fruit.
Next came, the Rhone Valley red varietals that prove most
enticing. Shiraz is a grape varietal with rich, jammy reds,
laden with spiced black fruits.
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