Regionality is the
buzz word in the wine industry at the moment. This partly due to the vast range
of Australian wines on the international and national stage and the opportunity
to define them in a more specific manner. Some American and European wine press
have in the past referred to Australian wine “tasting all the same”. What they
are really referring to is the more famous Barossa, McLaren Vale or blended
wines from a multiplicity of wine regions as these were the large proportion of
wines shipped overseas.
The distance and
difference between the regions of Australia allow wine makers to
create wines for all palates and showcasing regionality lets other styles
shine. Let me take you through the
journey that is the legend of terroir with four questions that spring to mind
when people refer to terroir or regionality .–
- What is it?
- Why is it important?
- What interferes with the expression
of it? and
- Who is doing it best?
Let’s look at each
question and then announce which 3 wineries from the Barossa that express the
region spectacularly. In the following
articles I will look at other regions within Australia. What is regionality? It is
what makes that wine special, unique, giving it a sense of place. The end result is when you open the bottle of
wine and the aroma rises out of the bottle to transport you to the time and
place where it was grown. Regionality is
important, as it is the expression of a particular place that makes it very
difficult for others to replicate.
When Australia
burst onto the international scene we produced well constructed, clean wines
that were fruit driven compared to many of the French, South American and South
African wines that had winemaking faults riddled through them. Now the rest of the world has cleaned up
their act while still maintaining their regional heritage. It is relevant to turn the attention to what
interferes with the expression of regional wine.
Regionality
gives the bottle of wine a sense of place and uniqueness and is important for marketing and protecting the individuality of the wine. We now
turn our attention to factors that influence the degree that regionality is
expressed in the wine. Specifically, the viticultural and winemaking processes
will be assessed. Many winemakers would argue that the expression of regional
wines comes down to the vineyard and the age of the vines. The older the vines, the deeper the root
system and the greater the vine has to draw intake of soil substrates. While I agree that the vineyard plays a major
role, I would propose that the vineyard management plays an equally vital
role. Generally lower yields, canopy management
and whether it is dry grown or irrigated plays a critical role as the greater
the irrigation and higher yield the greater dilution of flavours. This is the
“regionality” of the wine. Another major
component is how long the grapes spend on the vine. You get two things if you let the grapes sit
on the vine longer; one is an increase in alcohol and the second is a change in
flavour. The profile moves vibrant fruit
that tastes like you have picked from the bush or tree to currants, port or
baked fruit. Try leaving a tub of
blackberries in the oven for 45 minutes at 180 degrees. It doesn’t matter where the wine originated
from, if they are left sitting on the vine too long these flavours work their
way into the wine.
Everything in the
vineyard plays a huge part in determining the quality of the regional
expression but we will turn our attention to the winemaking process that
influences the degree to which it is expressed.
Generally some whites and most red wines are treated with oak, so
logically the choice of oak would have an effect on the expression of
regionality. There are two main types of
oak barrels, American and French.
American oak imparts sweet flavours like coconut, bourbon and
vanilla. Compared to the French, the
American oak is quickly absorbed into the wine which can dominate the aromatics
of the wine. French oak on the other
hand slowly imparts flavours of spice, toasted almonds, jasmine or roses. French oak also transmits a silky tannin
structure. It is a real tight rope for winemakers
then they use 100% new American oak, if they want to express the
regionality. That does not mean that the
quality of wines that are aged in American oak are lower, rather the quality of
the grapes has to be higher to fully articulate their regional background. The vineyard, vineyard management and oak play
the major roles in expressing the sense of place in a wine, but how the wine is
fermented provides the icing on the cake.
When it comes to
the fermentation of sugar to alcohol the type of yeast plays a vital role in
adding flavours and textures. There are options galore when it comes to
different types of yeast, so I’ll divide them up into the following groups: wild
ferment and super charged strains. If you
have ever brewed beer at home you will know that you can pick different strains
of yeast to add particular flavours to your beer. The strains they use in wine do pretty much
the same thing. Wild yeast is common in
the environment especially in close proximity to sugar rich food such as
grapes. They lay on the skins waiting to
convert the sugars into alcohol. One could say they are the party animals of
the organism world. These ferments are generally longer to start and take
longer to finish the process. Generally
the artisan makers are the only ones that are doing this and this method
results in a unique commonality running through the whole of the range.
Who is doing it best?
I have had the
pleasure of tasting a wide variety of
wines from the Barossa Valley in South Australia and have selected three wineries including, Spinifex, Michael
Hall and Shobbrook Wines, that beautifully express the characteristics of the
region and sub-regions. From
interviewing all three winemakers on the same day the first thing that stuck
out was the passion that all three showed.
It was cascading out of each of them and I must admit that rubbed off on
me. You could say that I had an extra
spring in my step. Peter Schell from
Spinifex grew up in New
Zealand, which is where he met his wife
Magali Gely, and moved to the Barossa to pursue an education in winemaking. After completing his formal education he and
his wife travelled the world completing vintages in Burgundy,
Provence, Languedoc,
Bordeaux and New
Zealand before settling down in the Barossa Valley. It was here in the Barossa that Peter could
work with some of the oldest vines in the world including 100 year old Mataro, Ugni Blanc and Shiraz.
Peter works with family growers who have a deep understanding and
passion for producing high quality grapes in a respectful and sustainable manner. Similarly,
Michael Hall scoured the world to find growers that respected the land, growing
sustainable grapes with varieties that suited the climate. Michael grew up in England where, in his early 20s he
developed a passion for wines. This was
the time in England
when wine bars started to become popular.
Michael recalls reading Oz Clarks Wine Guide
and being inspired and stimulated to be taken on a journey to taste all of the
wines from his readings. He settled in
the Barossa where he now makes diverse wine styles like cool climate Chardonnay
from the Adelaide Hills and full bodied Shiraz
all within one hours drive from his home.
Throughout his winemaking journey, Michael Hall has worked with many of
the icon wineries within Australia
and the world, including Domaine Leflaive, Vieux Telegraphe, Giaconda and
Cullen. You couldn’t have asked for a more impressive resume.
Unlike Peter and Michael, winemaker Tom
Shobbrook from Shobbrook Wines grew up in the Barossa but travelled to Chianti, Italy
to do a vintage overseas. He ended up
staying for eight years where he worked as the cellar master for Riecine which
meant he was in charge of overseeing the grapes within the vineyard to the time
they left the winery in the bottle. His
time in Italy
cemented the concept of quality in the vineyard translated to ease of work
within the winery to produce the best possible wine in the bottle. Tom definitely has a strong sense of respect
for the vineyard and pushing the viticultural boundaries to express regional
wine that are food friendly and exciting.
The common theme that they talked about was a respect for the land and
vine where the people that farmed the land created an environment where the
ecosystem was allowed to thrive and produce grapes that showed vitality,
harmony and balance. They spoke about
how it is an exciting time in the industry as people are just coming to
understand the link between sustainable farming, a connection to land and
unique quality wines. When they spoke
about where they saw the wine industry in five years time both Peter and
Michael said that he thought the focus would be on high quality vineyards and
an increase in the perception of high quality Australian wines worldwide. Tom thought that education is important where
open minded people could discuss viticultural practises and the impact on the
quality of grape production. In the end
you can see that these three winemakers are experimenting with viticultural
practises to forge ahead with producing quality regional wines.
