Hunter Valley - Wine region

Now, when you think of Australia what comes into mind? The splendid panorama of Sydney Bay? Maybe some kangaroos bouncing their way across the dusty outback? A cute koala clinging to a eucalyptus tree? A group of cheery Aussies gathered around the barbecue drinking cold beer after a hard afternoon on the surfboard? Well, all of those I guess. Only it seems that more and more people are swapping the can of cold beer for a glass of something else – wine, to be precise.

Yes, Australia is becoming ever more important as a producer of good quality wines and today I’d like to tell you a little more about it by taking you to Hunter Valley, one of the country’s prominent wine producing areas.

Hunter Valley is a major tourist magnet. Two and a half million visitors annually means that it’s the sixth most visited place in Australia – and there’s plenty to do for these people who make the reasonably short trip from Sydney to get here. The large, open areas are ideal for golf courses, the numerous vineyards and anything and everything to do with horses. If you come by car, it’ll take you no more than two hours as it’s only 120km from northern Sydney.

But back to the wine. The grape isn’t native to Australia but was in fact brought here from South Africa by the governor of New South Wales back in 1788. Initially results were poor because of the climate, but after a lot of effort the vines took off and by 1820 home-produced wine was commercially available. Within 2 years it had been exported and had already won an award. A further 10 years on and grapes were brought in from France and Spain and the skills of the immigrants from Europe was put to good use in establishing high quality vineyards. From there the country never really looked back.

Today Australia produces the white grapes of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Reisling among others, and the red varieties of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. The country exports an amazing 400 million litres of wine per year, including to the countries of origin of their best grapes, Spain, France and Italy. That’s quite some achievement. As for the domestic market, it too consumes 400 million litres a year. That’s why more and more you’ll see a glass of wine at the barbie rather than the cold beer. I know which I’d prefer – a nice bottle of Shiraz!