(white fruit, lychee) and a fairly full “white Burgundy” structure. Excellent acidity and minerality with a long finish on fruit and vanillin. Drink now through 2015 – it will continue to develop complex honeyed characteristics. A serious food wine that is ideal with white meats with sauces, spicy Asian and Indian cuisine, veal chops, or strong cheeses.
Blooming Rind Cheese, Brined Cheese, Chicken, Chinese Food, Indian Food, Pork Chops/Loin, Spicy Foods, Veal, Veined Cheese
Peel Estate is one of Western Australia’s most prestigious wineries. Founded by the genial Will Nairn in 1974, it was the region's first winery in modern times. Located just south of Perth in the Peel region (named after the winery), the vineyards are less than two miels from the Indian Ocean. The mild winters and relatively cool summers make it well-suited for high-quality wine production. Peel Estate grows a variety of red and white grapes, but is known for producing one of Australia’s best Verdelhos.

Western Australia lies far away from the other wine producing regions of the country, yet has created a reputation of its own. In the northern part of the region, the hot Mediterranean climate produces powerful and concentrated wines. Cooler climates blow through the southern region, making subtle wines with fresh fruit flavors and wonderful acidity. Margaret River is a perfect example of this southern climate and a great place to discover blended, Bordeaux-style reds and refreshing whites.

What is different in Western Australia? The influence of the sea. The western coast receives the sea breezes of the Pacific. The Margaret River Peninsula is cold in winter and, in a way, is exposed to sea breezes from 3 sides. Western Australia only produces 4% of all Australian wine production but that 4% represents 20% in dollar value.

Some vineyards, particularly in the Margaret River area, are quite expensive because they produce little and make very good wines… but even among the 90 or so producers of Margaret River, you can find growers who are more oriented towards a good wine at a reasonable price.

Peel, just below Perth, is also a region of great promise as well as Pemberton, just under Margaret River, and even the coastline of the south of Australia shows great potential such as Walpole and Denmark. These are by far the coolest temperatures of Australia and the wines produced here have more finesse and resemble more the European wines than anything else. They are complex, can age, and offer the consumer more than just alcohol.

Overview Australia is one of the most technologically advanced wine regions on earth and has experienced a wine boom in the past decade due to the approachability and quality of its wines. Shiraz is synonymous with Australia—a powerful red with huge fruit, spice and tannins, with as much character as the Aussies themselves. Australian winemakers also blend together different varieties, striving to produce very fruit-forward and well-balanced wines. This country crafts great whites as well; the Verdelho grapes produce a full-bodied wine with tangy acidity and honeysuckle undertones.

Unlike in Europe where the wine producer is often a family with limited acreage, Australia has had, over the last 50 years, a huge consolidation in the wine industry, which has led to 6 or 7 companies of gigantic size controlling 75% of Australian wine.

Of course, there is still a spirit of independence among the Australian growers. While the large producers dominate southeastern Australia (Sidney, Melbourne, or Adelaide), there are still a number of high-quality small growers. In addition, there are more and more new wineries on the western coast, and most of them are family businesses.

Climate Situated between the 30th and 40th parallels, Australia is a vast country with a variety of regions boasting vastly different climates: in the north, hot, wet tropics lie across the tropic of Capricorn; across the center an arid desert; and in the south a temperate coast that resembles a Mediterranean climate. It is this coastline that runs the length (east-west) of the continent that is ideal for winemaking.

Australia offers 60 distinct wine regions (Geographical Indications or GI’s) most of which are scattered across the western, southern, and eastern coasts of Australia. For a wine to bear the name of its GI, it must obtain at least 85% of its fruit from the region. Some of most famous wine regions are: Margaret River in Western Australia; Barossa Valley and Clare Valley in South Australia; Yarra Valley in Victoria; Hunter Valley in New South Wales; and Granite Belt in Queensland.

While the southern coast resembles the Mediterranean climate, there are several factors that influence in the region setting it apart from other vine growing regions. In Australia, most of the semi-temperate regions (where wines can grow) abut big deserts to their north (central Australia), which heavily influence the winemaking. These regions (excluding Western Australia), therefore, must contend with hot winds blowing in off the deserts, which have forced the producers to adapt their winemaking techniques to prevent wines from becoming so high in alcohol that they lose other important characteristics.

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