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Importers of Fine Wines Since 1919 | Resources for the Trade |
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Wine Regions: New South Wales and TasmaniaNew South Wales (NSW) is the original home of the vine. It was the first state to plant grapes.
Tasmania was the second home of the vine Down Under. In fact, nursery stock from Tasmania was used to propagate the wine regions of Victoria and South Australia. Tasmania is ultra-cool. Its growing season is short. Frosts threaten production and ocean winds delay ripening. Cool climate grapes do best here such as Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Wine Regions: Western Australia and VictoriaWestern Australia was the third state to plant the vine in Australia. Most of its vineyards run along the length of the coast and are therefore impacted by the maritime influences of the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean or both. Sea breezes moderate the temperatures here and rainfall increases substantially as you move southward along the coast. Margaret River is the most well-known of all the growing areas, even though Western Australia has been actively exporting its wines since the 1800s. The remoteness of this area demanded that producers find markets for its wines since the very beginning. Victoria is hallmarked by a diversity of climates and topographies. Luckily most are devoid of the humidity and summer storms that so plague the Hunter Valley of NSW. Frost was the biggest threat to the vine until phylloxera arrived. With the arrival of this vine pest, the government mandated that every vine be pulled from the ground in order to stop the root louse from spreading. Phylloxera spread anyway, and Victoria took 100 years to recover its lost viticultural ground.
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The Hunter Valley of New South Wales is known for its Shiraz and Semillon. The Riverina region of New South Wales is known for its dessert wines made from botrytis-affected Semillon. More Pinot Noir is grown in Tasmania than anywhere else in Oz.
Australia’s highest mountain peak, Mount Kosciuszko is located in New South Wales. At 7,310 feet it dwarfs Ayers Rock or Uluru (1,150 feet). The island of Tasmania is located approximately 200 miles off the Australian mainland. The Bass Strait, which separates Tasmania from continental Australia has some of the roughest seas on the planet due to the force of the winds of the 40th parallel. Known as the “Roaring Forties,” these winds pick up strength as they funnel through the divide. The first vines were planted in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, a region known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, sparkling wine and Riesling.
Victoria’s Rutherglen is famous for its dessert wines. The wine regions of Henty and Macedon Ranges, located in Victoria are the coolest grape growing areas on mainland Australia. Although phylloxera did cross the Victorian border into New South Wales, it has moved no further than Sydney. There are still pockets of vineyard land in Victoria that remain phylloxera free! 
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hallmarked by a hot, humid, sub-tropical climate. Fortunately, daily cloud cover and afternoon breezes mitigate the heat, but rain and hail often arrive with harvest.
Tasmania is known for its sparkling wines and its Pinot Noirs.
Victoria has the most and the most consistent rainfall on mainland Australia.