The super power from Down Under continues to deliver consumer-friendly wines with good value — and sexy accents!

Most of us remember Australia exploding onto the wine scene sometime between the fall of Knight Rider and the rise of Baywatch. Australia brought us big, bold and boozy wines at pretty reasonable prices. The Aussie invasion empowered us, unlocking Pandora’s box and globally re-igniting a dozy passion for wine. All of a sudden we understood the labels and identified with the reliable flavours. For a while, wherever a little black dress went, a bottle of Wolf Blass Yellow Label was sure to follow.

Globally, Australia is the fifth largest wine producer, exporting more wine to the UK than any other country, including France. Here in North America, Aussie wine is the second most likely to grace our tables. The North American appetite for Aussie wine represents a whopping billion dollars to the economy Down Under.

Get to know Australian wines

Australia’s grape growing regions are largely contained in the south and spread across four zones: South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. Combined, these zones represent about 60 unique sub-regions, nine of which are the household names we think of: Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Heathcote, Hunter Valley, McLaren Vale, Margaret River, Mudgee and Yarra Valley.

The landscape across each region is diverse, consisting of both a Mediterranean-like climate that help grapes such as chardonnay and shiraz flourish, and a higher altitude and cooler climate that suits sauvignon blanc and pinot noir.

Hunter Valley is Australia’s oldest wine producing region with the first vine planted in the 1820s.

The majority of Australia’s production comes from grapes grown in the warm climate, though premium wines are generally produced from the cooler, high-altitude regions.

Since Australia has no native grapes, the varieties grown can easily be found in many other places. To help differentiate its product, careful attention has been paid to ensure the quality and health of the vines, often by bucking old-world-wine conventions. A good example is the way Australian vineyards are laid out, with plants spaced further apart and grape vines trained up and away from the soil which provides better air circulation and helps prevent rot (a technique called canopy management).

Australia’s signature wine is shiraz (also known as syrah in the old-world). It typifies what we consider the Australian wine experience to be: big, bold, full bodied and ready to please. The best-of-the-best is a trade-off between Borassa Valley or McLaren Vale. In fact, Australians have done shiraz so well that some countries are now dropping the syrah moniker in favour of the more recognizable shiraz. In addition to shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, semillon and reisling are all deeply produced staples.

Today, Australia is going back to the roots of what made their first-wave invasion successful — helping the consumer understand the product. In the world of wine, someone can always beat your price and Australia’s strategy is to help consumers understand

why their country’s wine is good value. What does this mean? Well, have you ever met an Aussie without a charming brogue? They make their wine the same way.

Australian wines to try

• Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz, Wyndham Estate Wine Ltd., South Australia, Borassa and various, Australia, $17.15
• Wyndham Estate Bin 222 Chardonnay, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Australia, Wyndham Estate Wines Ltd., $11.95
• Penfolds Thomas Hyland Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Foster’s Wine Estates, South Australia, Coonawarra/McLaren Vale, Australia, $20.15

First published at CanadianLiving.com