Australia is home to more kangaroos than people and contrary to what you may believe, it has 10 times as many camels than it does koalas. What does this have to do with wine? Nothing, but they are interesting facts. However, the recent history of Australian wine starts with the British, but truly honors the French. Oh and next time you’re “Down Under”, consider a trip to Mt. Disappointment (a real place).
Between 150 and 140 Ma (mega-annum, or a million years) ago, during the second phase of the breaking up of Pangaea, Australia began to separate from the rest of Gondwana. Then in the Late Cretaceous period, New Zealand, New Caledonia and the rest of Zealandia began to separate from Australia. During the third phase of the Pangaea break-up, Australia split from Antarctica and moved quickly northward. As an FYI, Australia is considered to be on a collision course with the south-eastern coast of Asia. But don’t worry, we have about 150 to 250 million years before things get dicey. In the meantime, lets talk about wine! Read more about The History of Australian Wine …
I wanted to take a moment post a short article about this grape and how it has taken on a double life.
Let’s start with the spoiler: Syrah is Shiraz from a grape standpoint. They are one and the same genetically.