Australian Chardonnay

While the early immigrants to Australia have been growing grapes and producing wine almost since they arrived, it wasn't until recent decades that Chardonnay became popular. Since the 1980s, Australian vintners have fought hard to gain a reputation as among the premier produces of Chardonnay wine in the world.

History of Chardonnay in Australia

It all started with James Busby, the son of an English engineer. He was born in Scotland in 1801, and emmigrated to Australia in 1824. After returning to Britian, he again returned to Australia in 1832, after having studied viticulture in Europe, this time bringing with him several cuttings of vines from Europe including Chardonnay. While he eventually settled in New Zealand and became a prominent public figure there, he is widely regarded as the father of Australia's wine industry.

Even though the grape was introduced at this early point, it really didn't take off in popularity until the 1950s.

In fact it wasn't until the 1970s that a commercially successful Chardonnay was produced by Tyrrels in the famous wine growing region of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. Though several wine makers are successfully producing Chardonnay these days.

There was a boom in popularity throughout the 80s and 90s with a slight decrease in the popularity of Chardonnay after 2000, though there is still a lot of demand for Mudgee Chardonnay as that from Cowra and the Yarra Valley.

The Grape

So what's so special about the Chardonnay grape?

Well, it's one of the most widely grown grapes in the world so something must be good about it! It probably originated in the Burgundy region of France though there are claims on the grape's heritage from as far away as the Middle East.

The actual grape is a nuetral green skinned variety which many say have flaours associated with terroir and oak, though different growing regions obviously give rise to different flavors. The Hunter Valley region in Australia for example, are known to have mosre richness and smokey notes.

The grape is grown in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales including the Mudgee wine region.