Pop open your best bottle of Shiraz and bake up some meat pies because today is Australia Day – the day Australia celebrates the arrival of the first fleet of Englanders to land on Australian soil. If you would like a more in-depth picture of Australia Day’s history, please read on through Wikipedia – otherwise, just trust that it is a day for celebration…and celebration to Australians means drinking. Fact is, Australia Day in Australia is already over, but you can rest assured that some of them are likely still going strong, even if they started the celebration at 7:30am their time.
Anyway, if you’re going to celebrate I thought it best to recommend some delicious grapes to drink today and give you some pointers on what to look out for and which regions are key.
1.  Shiraz – The best known region for Shiraz is, of course, the Barossa Valley. Before you turn up your nose and say that Shiraz is entirely too “hot” full of overripe fruits and too much alcohol, (because I know you were thinking it) let’s take a moment to reflect upon how delicious it can be. I have to admit, Barossa Shiraz will always have a place in my heart with chocolate – it’s yummy. It’s also a large reason Australian wine is on the map so we must give credit where credit is due. In the event this has done nothing to convince you of what you otherwise believe, you can also find excellent versions of Shiraz in the McLaren Vale. Here, the temperatures are a bit cooler, which means the wines produced are a bit different. Shiraz is closer to what one might consider a “Syrah” as it focuses on more leathery, animal character instead of jammy fruit.
2. Riesling – Travel to the Clare Valley and you’ll find some seriously good Riesling. Australian Rieslings are generally made in a dry style and, here, Petrol is generally not considered a flaw. I have to admit, I have a thing for a little petrol in my Riesling so it’s a welcomed aroma for me. Here, you’ll find fantastic mineral character, bright citrus, and delicious stone fruits. They’re high-acid and can often age twenty years or more. One of the most intriguing things is that this region was among the first in the world to use screw caps – dating back to the 1990′s. We owe them a toast just for that.
3. Sweet wines – We’ve got a couple good ones to end the night with. First, let’s start with Hunter Valley. One of my first real experiences with Australian wine occurred back when I was 21 and I had the pleasure to work with Keith Tulloch wines. His was a great portfolio to get my palate wet with and, I have to admit, among his greats wines the botrytised Semillion was my favorite. Hunter Valley actually has a tendency to have slightly too much rain which is great for these Semillion wines (though bad for others.)
The other sweet wine I’d recommend seeking out is Rutherglen Muscat. Rutherglen Muscat is a liquor muscat that begins with late-harvested, dried grapes that are fermented and then fortified. It is absolutely delicious and is coveted as one of the better sweet wines of the world.
So what are you waiting for? Go out, snag a meat pie and get your Australian wine on! Cheers!