Wine Regions of New South Wales, Australia

Guide tp Wine Types by Region: Hunter Valley, Mudgee and More

Nov 16, 2008

Australia's reputation for producing wine of quality and value is becoming more widely recognized as its exports increases worldwide.

Now accepted as one of the top 10 wine-producing countries in the world, Australia is also the fourth largest exporter producing a range of full-flavored wine styles - from full-bodied reds and deep, fruity whites to sparkling, dessert and fortified styles.

Australians themselves consume over 449 million litres of locally produced wine each year, with many of it's internationally award-winning bottles sold to some of the world’s best restaurants. More popular varietal and blended varieties are commonly found in supermarkets and liquor shops in over 80 countries.

With so much variation in climate and soil-type, Australia is one of only a few countries able to produce every one of the major wine styles from over 130 grape varieties - the more prevalent being Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Riesling.

Today, there are 62 designated wine growing regions making up 170,000 hectares of vineyards countrywide, 14 of which are situated in the state of New South Wales.

NSW Wine Types by Region

The most well-known of wine regions in New South Wales is the Hunter Valley, with over 120 wineries spread over an area of 3500 hectares. Famed for its distinctive style of Semillon and Chardonnay, with Shiraz the area’s premium red variety, the Hunter Valley is the oldest and largest wine making area in Australia. The Hunter Valley also produces some exceptional Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Pinot Noir.

Mudgee - Cabernet Sauvignon

If you’re after a full-bodied red with great aging characteristics, you can’t go past a Cabernet Sauvignon from this premium red wine area. Although a relative newcomer to wine production, Mudgee has forged ahead gaining more recognition over the last 30 years due to its reputation for producing full-flavoured reds with fantastic ageing potential.

As with the Hunter Valley, the Mudgee wine growing area is extremely popular with over 40 cellar doors available to tourists, and many fine restaurants. Mudgee is one of the fastest growing wine regions for premium wine production in the country, where you will discover many of the older wine types and plenty of exciting new ones as well.

Cowra - Chardonnay

Cowra has more than 40 vineyards spanning over 1250 sq km of vineyards. Although a major award-winning area for fine Chardonnays, extensive plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Merlot over the last 20 years has seen Cowra reds attracting plenty of new fans among wine-lovers.

The Cowra area is also gaining notoriety for redefining environmental sustainability with minimum environmental impact more than any other region in Australia. Cowra Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Verdelho are much admired varieties of the region. Also becoming more popular is Gewürztraminer, and the reds varieties Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Grenache and Mouverdre.

Situated between the Cowra and Mudgee regions lies Australia’s highest vineyards, famous for producing wines with refined yet intense fruit characteristics. Since the early 1980's, the region has experienced much success with its Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. There are also some fantastic Shiraz types produced in Orange, with Gewurztraminer, Barbera, Viognier, Riesling, Sangiovese and Zinfandel gaining more appreciation.

Probably the most little-known of all NSW wine regions, the Shoalhaven coast has just 15 wineries and vineyards, representing a surprisingly large selection of wine styles and method of production. The most popular variety here is the Chambourcin, due to the variety’s natural resistance to mildew. Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Verdelho, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz are also quickly gaining a following among visitors and locals.

Riverina - Botrytis Semillon

The star of this region's wine is the delectable dessert wine, Botrytis Semillon. As the second largest wine region in Australia, the Riverina is also one of the busiest, and a major producer of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay. Once a dominant producer of Pedro, Semillon, Trebbiano, Doradillo, Grenache and Shiraz grape varieties - all grown chiefly for fortified wines, the Riverina is now leading the charge in producing some exciting new red varieties such as Durif and Petit Verdot.

The copyright of the article Wine Regions of New South Wales, Australia in Australian/NZ Wine is owned by Kym Hills. Permission to republish Wine Regions of New South Wales, Australia in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.