Australian Sparking White wine regional and flavour profile

 

Tastes and aromas

Like Champagne, Australian sparkling wines can range from extra dry, dry, and sweet, and have a relatively low alcohol content of 12%

Drink Now or Later?

Due to its high acidity and carbon dioxide, sparkling wines are capable of long-term ageing, however may lose some of its carbonation. Flavours develop into more complex toast, honeyed, sometimes even mushroomy and Vegemite characters.

Fun Facts

• The best Australian sparkling wines are being made increasingly from cold climate grapes grown in Tasmania and high altitude and or southerly parts of Victoria.
• Sparkling wines can be made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and less importantly Pinot Meunier
• After wines are aged in the bottle, the bottles are then turned gradually upside down for the solids to fall into the necks, which are then frozen and the iced plug released under pressure. (The process is known as disgorgement.)
• Although sparkling wine does not have the status of champagne, there are a wide range of premium quality wines available for a fraction of the price.
• A sparkling wine needs just 45 minutes in the fridge before serving. Don’t be tempted to chill it for longer, as the taste and smell of the sparkling wine will be lost
• The longest recorded sparkling wine cork flight went a distance of 177 feet and nine inches.
• The bubbles that are in sparkling wine were originally considered by early vintners as a defect. But later enjoyed and became a welcomed effect.
• Ever drop a raisin into a glass of sparkling wine? It will repeatedly bounce up and down between the top and bottom of the glass.
• Sparkling wine was first made in England many years before it was in France.
• The first recorded sparkling wine party was recorded in 1472.

Regions

Increasingly, the finest sparkling wines are made from cool-climate Tasmanian grapes, with Macedon, the Yarra Valley, from Victoria and Adelaide Hills from South Australia other premium sources

Food Pairings

Sparkling wine, like Champagne, can be drunk with an increasingly wide array of foods. Although the most well known pairings are Oysters and caviar, interestingly, the acidity and bubbles of sparkling wine help cleanse the palate when paired with greasy meals, and the wines yeast characters make it a wonderful accompaniment to fried mushrooms and cheese. The fresh acidity makes it ideal with seafood, as well as fruit dishes and desserts.