History of Australian Wine

When thinking of the production of wine, you would be forgiven for thinking that that Australia was fairly new in the industry. However, you could not be farther from the truth. When looking back through the history of Australian wine, it has been noted that the earliest settlers planted vines in Australia in 1788. Although these wine making attempts failed, it was only a few years later that the first grapes were successfully grown. In the 200 or so years since then, Australia has been growing bigger and bigger in it's wine-producing industry and is now the second largest importer of wine to the United States, Italy being the largest importer.

In the history of Australian wine, you can see that the country started exporting it's produce from an early time. It was in 1822 that the first shipment of wine traveled from near Sydney to London and the quality was recognizable, even then. That exact batch of wine that was shipped won an award for it's quality in the following year!

It was during the reign of Queen Victoria that the industry really began to set off, when gold was discovered in Melbourne in the 1840's. Currently Australia employs 16,000 people in the production of wine and also another 5,000 in selling it. In one twelve month period, it was recorded that the wine sales generated in that year was around 354 million litres and in the year after that, 250 million litres of it was exported to generate a worth of around $1.2 billion.

Due to this impressive exportation rate that grew 22% in value, and 12% in volume in a period of two years alone, it has been predicted that Australia will soon become one of the world's greatest wine producers. Not bad for a "late bloomer!" There are roughly 40 wine growing regions in Australia, the best of which are New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia.

In 1990 Australia put into effect the Label Integrity Program (LIP), which regulates the vintage, varietal, and geographical indications of wines produced in Australia.

If you were to ask yourself why this impressive country has grown so much in it's wine-producing industry, you would have to look at two main factors. One of these would be the great climate it has to offer to grow the grapes in, and the other being the lack of "prohibition" on the industry. The country has faced a few hard times over the years in it's wine making but has overcome these and managed to grow more impressively by the year!

History of Italian Wine

Italian wine is very often described as one of the best wines in the world. From the cheapest bottle to the most expensive, every mouthful is one of enjoyment and you will find it a struggle to find a bottle of Italian wine that is not up to scratch. There are over two thousand different wine labels produced in Italy from twenty regions and 96 provinces.

For many generations, it has been known for wine to play a very important part of the society. From the poorest, to the richest, all Italian's loved a glass of wine, even that long ago. The first wine started as people juicing the grapes to drink the juice out of them. Obviously, as the juice sat there, waiting to be drunk, it fermented and became alcoholic and therefore you have your glass of wine. From that very first idea of wine, it has evolved into a massive industry and has become what it is today.

Italy is known as one of the oldest wine regions in the world and was believed to have started around 4000-3000BC with the Romans. Back then, the alcohol was incredibly strong, with none of the additives and ingredients that we use today. To make this wine more palatable, the Romans would dilute it with water and even add other ingredients which to use may seem a bit odd. Honey was used quite often as were other herbs and spices, and even chalk was used to reduce the bitterness of the taste! The white wine was also more prized and still is known as the better of the three - Red, Rose and White, even today.

In the nineteenth Century, the old Italian wine makers learned better processes to make the wine taste better and more palatable and even learned how to bottle the wine. Before very long, it was shipped all over Europe and other parts of the world and thus started the reputation it has developed for being the nicest regions of wine making. It was also learned, even before the nineteenth Century, that keeping the wine in very tightly closed containers improved the taste and quality of the wine.

In 1963 the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (the DOC), similar to the French AOC took over control of the production and labeling of Italian wine to ensure production quality. Unlike the AOC, the DOC has aging requirements. The current top three producing regions are Veneto, Piedmont and Tuscany, which many of you will recognize.

From the very first bottle of wine until now, the quality of Italian wine has never really been disagreed with and even though the country is now split in to different regions of wine making, the country is still very much renowned for making the best bottle of wine in the world! This reputation, I'm sure will remain for many years to come!

History of French Wine

It is estimated that there are approximately 150,000 grape growers in France and almost 1.5 billion gallons of wine are produced from this country on a yearly basis. It is now known as one of the world's biggest wine exporters and it has many different recognized wine-producing regions.

When thinking of the history of French wine, you have to look as far back as the 6th Century BC. Farther forward than that, however, is where I would like to start. This is the Middle Ages, when Monks maintained the Vineyards and they also guarded the wine making skills and also the knowledge required to make wine, very closely. This is because the Monasteries had the resources required to produce the wine that was needed, not only to celebrate Mass but also to produce a regular income. During this period, the Monk's wine was considered as far more superior to that made anywhere else, by anyone else.

As time went on, the Monk's were not the only ones to have control over the vineyards. Rich men and also Noblemen started to acquire the vineyards and grow grapes to make wine for themselves and also to generate an income. The French Revolution, however, soon put a stop to this and the vineyards that were owned by the Monks and the Noblemen were confiscated.

Most of the wine in the history of French wine was drank locally, until about the 1850's when exportation started to produce a recognized income. This was mainly due to railways being developed and also the improvement of major roadways, which meant that transportation costs were decreasing steadily.

In 1953, quality control laws were set up by the Appellation d’Origine Controlee (the AOC) to control the wine making systems, to ensure all wine was made to meet certain rules and regulations. These laws set a precedent and made the French wine making system one of the best in the world. These days, many European wine making regions base their methods on those used by the French and also by the quality control rules that were introduced.

France is now renowned for producing some of the best quality wines in the world, and also the most classic wines that are generally more expensive to buy. Because of this, it is hardly surprising that wine making is one of the Countries biggest economic industries and will continue to be for years to come.

Wine Basics

There are lots of anecdotes on how wine was discovered. My favorite is a King who so prized his grapes, that he hid them in containers marked "Poison" so no one would eat them. When his wife decided to end her life, she drank from one of the bottles and instead of dying, she discovered the joys of wine. Most historians agree that the first wine production happened in Mesopotamia, now Iran, around 6000 BC. From there we can follow wine drinking to ancient Egypt in heiroglyphics and burial sites where vessels likely to contain wine have been discovered.

As the Greeks conquered new nations, vineyards moved with them to Rome where we see specific references in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. The Romans continued their wine education by classifying different types of wine and learning irrigation and fertilizing techniques. The German History Museum of the Pfalz has a wonderful Wine Exhibit available online and in person showing wine antiquities, like the oldest wine bottle discovered in Speyer Germany, from around 325 AD.

So what is wine? Simply put, wine is the fermented juice of grapes. Fermentation involves adding sugar and yeast in order to produce alcohol and CO2. The carbon dioxide dissipates into the air unless the wine is put through a second fermentation process to create Champagne and other sparkling wines which keep the bubbles in the bottle.