Australian Wine Tours

Do you enjoy going on wine tastings? Do you enjoy traveling? These are great reasons to try Australian wine--on location! There are plenty of regions you can visit when you're on the continent that will provide you with great wine, and you can enjoy some of the wonderful tourist attractions that the region has to offer.

The Australian wine industry is the fourth largest exporter worldwide, and 400 million liters a year are sent to countries like Italy, France, and Spain. However, the residents of the continent keep the wine industry in business as well--over 400 liters stay in the region and are served to residents and tourists.

There are several Australian wine varieties that you'll want to taste when you visit the continent, so you'll want to know all you can about the grape varieties that are grown there so that you can make wine selections based on your personal tastes. Australia has no native grapes, so the grapes that are used to make wine are from South Africa and Europe. Major varieties include Shiraz, Riesling, Merlot, and Semillon. These wines are wonderful with most dinner dishes, and some can be used for dessert as well. Shiraz wine was originally labeled by this name only on the continent; in other parts of the world, this type of wine was called Syrah--now, winemakers all over the world label this type of wine as 'Shiraz'. There are two varieties of grapes that are developed in Australia, Cienna and Tarrango, that also make tasty wines that you'll enjoy.

There are also a number of Australian wine brands you'll want to try, including Penfolds Grange, which is the most popular brand manufactured in the area. The wine has even been entered in competitions since the 1960s, and has won more than 50 gold medals over the years. The wine took home the gold medal in 1971 at the Wine Olympics in Paris, and the 1990 version of this Australian wine was named Red Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator Magazine in 1995.

The continent has about 2000 wine producers overall, but most of the winery operations are very small. This is fine for most companies in the region, however, since the market is dominated by these companies. The largest Australian wine, company, however, is Hardy Wine Company, which is part of the world's biggest wine company, Constellation Brands.

When you're taking a tour of the wine vineyards during your vacation, you'll definitely want to visit Foster's wine estates such as Wolf Blass, Wynns, or Rosemount. If you want to learn more about Constellation Wines, you'll want to check out estates like the Hardy Wine Company or Houghton Wine Company.

While you may not want to devote the majority of your trip to wine tasting, you should know which regions have the wine-producing vineyards that you'll want to take a look at. For instance, if you're going to be in Melbourne, which is in the state of Victoria, you'll want to visit the Alpine Valleys or Goulburn Valley for Australian wine samples, and if you're going to be in the Southern region of the country, you may want to arrange a visit to Adelaide Hills. For more great information on wine tours, as well as a few wines you can taste at home, visit www.visitaustralia.au.