Wines from the Southern Hemisphere
Over the past decade, more and more high quality wines from the Southern Hemisphere are increasingly being offered in the U.S. at competitive prices. These wines are of exceptional value and can be very exciting to discover for those wine consumers who are always wanting to try something new.
The main wine producing countries in the Southern Hemisphere include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Chile. Traditionally seen as bulk wine makers, these wine producing countries are quickly changing their reputations and are producing some of the highest quality, highest rated wines in the world. Examples of this are Penfold’s Grange and Henshke’s Hill of Grace from Australia.
Just recently I was strolling along the main streets of Carmel, California and found this amazing little wine shop called Southern Latitude Wines on Lincoln Street just off of Ocean Ave. Having studied wine in Australia for almost two years, I was instantly curious and I soon found myself browsing through the few, but exceptionally well-stocked, shelves organized by country of origin. After, spending quite some time reading labels and exploring the various offerings, I settled on three wines: An Argentinian Malbec, an Australian Shiraz, and a red blend from South Africa. After gauging the wine shop owner’s thoughts on these wines, I left the wine shop excited to try something not from California.
Finally, I have tasted all three wines and loved every minute of it! They were more than amazing and I can’t wait to go back to that little wine store and find my next new discovery. The following are my wine notes on each wine; these wines can be a bit more difficult to find, but please send a comment if you are having any trouble and I will do my best to help you locate any of these in your area.
2004 Mapema Malbec, Argentina, $20.99
This wine had remarkable dark red hues with aromas and flavors of rich fruit of blackberry, ripe plum, black cherry, tobacco, and dark chocolate. This wine pairs very well with any dark meat dishes. My dad and I enjoyed this Malbec with some traditional California tri-tip and we were pleasantly surprised at how well the meat and wine complimented each other.
13.5% Alc, www.vineconnections.com (Importer)
2001 Warwick Three Cape Ladies, South Africa, $20.99
This red blend is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon (41%), Merlot (29%), and Pinotage (30%) – a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault which originated in South Africa. This full bodied wine has fairly intense aromas of berries and coffee, but the standout character of this wine was the incredibly concentrated smoky, bacon fat, dark berry flavors. It was unlike any wine I have ever tasted and once I got used to the style, I really enjoyed a glass (or two!) of this wine.
14.5% Alc, www.warwickwine.co.za
2004 Howard Park Margaret River Shiraz, Western Australia, $21.99
The Margaret River wine region of Western Australia is growing incredibly fast, and whilst I was visiting the region the end of November ‘07, there were only a few standout wineries, Howard Park being among the best. As I was ready to head back to the U.S. the following week, I only purchased one bottle of wine at the Cellar Door, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. However, I really enjoyed the Shiraz as well and was so excited to find it in my new favorite little wine shop in Carmel. Because the Shiraz grapes that go into making this wine are grown in a cooler climate, the aromas and flavors are more subtle, lacking the fruit forward intensity of your typical Barossa Valley Shiraz. In this wine, you will find opulent aromas and flavors of red cherry, ripe plum, violet perfume, with slight vanilla from oak aging. This wine will age well for the next five years.
14.5% Alc, www.howardparkwines.com.au
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2 Responses to “Wines from the Southern Hemisphere”
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Great comments regarding southern hemisphere examples that left a lasting impression. At the risk of sounding like a “wine blogger,” I don’t know whether or not Australia can be catagorized as a historical bulk producing nation. Our history of wine production until the late 70′s revolved heavily around port production for domestic consumption.
Exports from Australia since this times have sky rocketed with representation of all price points and styles found in over 80 countries worldwide! Australia is the 4th largest exporter by volume behind France, Italy and Spain and thanks to the Australian Wine and Brandy corporation, have a focused strategic plan to make sure Australia’s brand image is strengthened through increasing volumes of higher priced/quality products.
For those lovely Americans out there, you dont need to part with $400 US dollars to buy the best of Australia. By this I refer to Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace. These wines are outstanding in their own right, yet other wines are in the market that should have the same ‘icon status.’
Brands like:
Torbreck from the Barossa Valley SA,
Leuwin Estate Margeret River WA,
Kooyong Mornington Peninsula VIC,
Bannockburn Geelong VIC,
Jasper Hill Heathcote VIC,
Giaconda Beechworth VIC,
Samuel’s Goerge Mclaren Vale SA,
Lake Folley Hunter Valley NSW,
Stefano Lubiano TAS to name some good examples.
Wines from these producers can range from $25 to $250 and can provide loads of enjoyment (without the hefty price tag!) for a wide range of wine drinkers. Oh, and I forgot to mention Howard Park, I was fortunate enough to join the author of this thread in a visit to the HP cellar door. We did not buy anywhere near as much wine as we should of!
Cheers! Matthew Castle – Sonarys co-brands India
Thank you for your comments Matthew! I should have been more specific regarding the comment of the traditional bulk wine producing countries of the Southern Hemisphere. In the U.S., these countries were seen as mainly bulk wine producers as they were exporting quite a lot of bulk wine (and some still are!) to be bottled and sold at inexpensive prices in the States. With the case of Australia, the majority of their bulk wine exports to the U.S. only occured in the past decade (which helped with the creation of Australian brands such as Black Swan and Mattie’s Perch among many others). However, Australian bulk wine exports have been decreasing over the last year or so due to lower supply levels, strong Australian dollar, etc. Because of Climate Change’s negative effects on many of Australia’s high volume producing regions, I do believe Australia’s future success will be in the high quality, niche wine segments. All the wine brands mentioned in your comment are absolutely fantastic wines and I look forward to seeing more like these for purchase in the U.S. market very soon.
Cheers!