Despite the rich history behind Australian wine, many casual wine drinkers are unaware that Australia is a major contributor to the wine industry. The first Australians landed in 1788 and promptly failed their wine making attempts. It would take a great deal of experimentation to produce the first bottle of Australian wine. However, by the 1820’s Australian wine was an international success and was the first country to earn an international award for the wine making quality.

Australian wines are actually considered to rival the best of French wines. In competitions and blind tasting, Australian wine has perpetually been mistaken for a wine of French heritage. This is in part due to the fact that Australia does not have any native grapes and the imported grapes allowed them to select the highest quality grapes and coupled their efforts with excellent grape press techniques and wine science.

Historically, Australian wine has been crafted from about 130 various grape varieties. Over the past ten years there has been an experimental movement within the industry which involves the testing of alternative grapes. These experimental efforts have paid off, producing a wide range of unique and completely individualistic wines. Despite the experimental nature of these new wines, Australian wine quality has not been compromised, as the economic wellbeing of the entire country relies fairly heavily on the wine industry. While it might only be the fourth largest exporter of wine world wide, Australia relies on the jobs and the production as well as the wine based tourism that their wine industry creates.

Australian wines have not received their proper accolades among average and new wine drinkers. This is in part due to the quiet nature of the wine’s success. As more wine connoisseurs emerge on the international market, Australia’s efforts are becoming more recognized.

Related posts:

1. French Wines
2. German Wines – Part II
3. Italian Wines