Australia is the fourth largest producer of wine in the world. Australian wine has earned respect as a leader in combining tradition with new ideas and technology. Biodynamic and organic vineyards are gaining popularity in Australia, due in part to the organic movement and Australians commitment to the holistic, healthful properties of the earth.
Australian wine-makers travel the wine world as highly skilled seasonal workers, relocating to the northern hemisphere during the off-season at home. "They are an important resource in the globalization of wine” and wine critic Matt Kramer notes that "the most powerful influence in wine today comes from Australia”.
Australia has about 60 wine regions located across the country with 103 defined geographic wine growing districts.
The largest volume of wine is produced from grapes grown in the warm climate Murray-Darling Basin zones of Lower Murray, North Western Victoria and Big Rivers. In general, the higher-value premium wines are made from smaller and cooler-climate regions.
Among the most popular regions include the Hunter Valley, outside of Sydney, the Barossa Valley, in South Australia near Adelaide, and Yarra Valley, in Victoria outside of Melbourne.
In recent years, the Tasmanian wine industry has emerged as a producer of high quality wines. In particular, the Tamar Valley has developed a reputation for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which are well suited to the cooler Tasmanian climate.
The major grape varieties in Australia are Shiraz (also called Syrah), Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sermillion, Sauvignon Blanc and Reisling.
The biggest, most well-known wineries in Australia inlcude Penfolds, Hardy Wine Company, Rosemount, Lindemans, and Wyndham Estates. But when looking for exclusively organic and biodynamic wines you’ll need to look to Robinvale, Captains Creek, and Kalleske Wines.
Robinvale
Robinvale Wines have been operating since 1976, and for many years when people thought organic wine, they were the first brand, and sometimes the only brand, that spilled out of people's mouths. Now there are so many new organic wine producers in Australia, it's good to see that Robinvale aren't resting on their laurels, but continue to be innovative, leading the way with interesting new varieties
As a Certified Demeter Biodynamic wine, it's been produced using environmentally friendly, ecologically safe biological methods to activate and nurture the life of the soil, without the use of artificial or synthetic chemical pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, fertilizers and other unnecessary additives.
Captains Creek Organic Wines
This family-owned and operated vineyard in Daylesford, Victoria produces hand-crafted premium quality certified organic wines from the Burgundian grape varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. No chemical additives are used throughout the wine-making and the essential preservative sulphur dioxide has been kept to a minimum.
Kalleske Wines
In South Australia’s celebrated Barossa Valley, the Kalleske family have been farming and growing grapes since the 1800s. All wines are estate grown and vinified with minimalistic winemaking techniques used to fully capture the essence of the vineyard allowing genuine hand made estate wines to be produced. They have received the Australian Certified Organic seal on all their wines.