Australians really do know a lot about wine
The British are sometimes a bit sniffy about “new world” wines, perhaps concerned their makers haven’t had as much time as the French to figure out what they’re doing. This is somewhat irrational: yes, Australians have unusual takes on things like football and what constitutes a reasonable distance between cities. But they’ve been growing wine for generations, and if you actually engage an Aussie in conversation about it, you may rapidly find yourself outclassed.
“Vines have been cultivated in Australia for over 200 years,” says Julian Dyer, UK chief operating officer for Australia’s McGuigan Wines. “Wine is produced in every state and employs a significant number of people, so there can be a greater awareness and knowledge of wine in Australia compared to countries where wine is not so embedded in the culture. This is particularly the case within the wine regions. If you take the Barossa Valley for example, most people living there are either directly employed in the industry, or will know someone who is.”
It’s a grape place to grow wine
To state the obvious, Australia’s wine valleys and hills have the perfect soil and climate for … growing wine. McGuigan Wines, one of Australia’s leading producers, began life in the Hunter Valley, a couple of hours’ drive inland from Sydney, where it was founded by Brian McGuigan back in 1991. “It’s a really small wine region, characterised by hot and humid conditions, with clay soils that help maintain moisture, and is most famous for producing the semillon grape variety, which ages beautifully,” says Dyer.
In the last three-and-a-bit decades, McGuigan has become a spectacular success story and grown enormously, keeping one foot in the Hunter while also setting up a state-of-the-art winery in perma-sunny Mildura in Victoria, close to where the border meets the neighbouring states of New South Wales and South Australia. The grapes are sourced from across these three states.
“We source our grapes from vineyards located in the best regions, including Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills, as well as some less well-known but brilliant spots,” says Dyer. “This gives us the ability to always select the best grapes to ensure the best quality and consistency year in, year out.”
McGuigan is a mark of quality
Now long established as one of the leading names in Aussie wine, McGuigan Wines’ regular output is divided into two ranges: Black Label and Reserve.
Black Label is the sturdy, high-quality regular line. It probably says everything you need to know that Black Label Red is Australia’s number one selling bottled red wine. And as we’ve already established, Australians know wine.
“Rich, generous and approachable, the McGuigan Black Label range is your contemporary guide to Australia’s most popular wine varieties,” says Dyer. “Every bottle of McGuigan Black Label is packed full of varietal flavour, and can be enjoyed on any occasion, whether it be a meal with friends or even a night in watching TV.”
Reserve is basically Black Label’s more grownup cousin, for occasions when you want to take your time over a wine. That’s not to say it’s “better” than Black Label – it’s just a splash more complex. “Our McGuigan Reserve range is made with premium grapes from the finest wine regions within the state of New South Wales, creating wines with beautiful purity, balance and length. These are wines to savour and to enjoy at length.”
Alcohol-free wine is not your enemy
Alcohol-free wine: still a pretty weird idea, right? Well it’s getting less weird: alcohol-free wine is forecast to grow 15 times faster than regular wine over the next five years, according to drinks industry analyst IWSR.
A lot of the reason is that winemakers are only just figuring out how to actually make zero-alcohol stuff that tastes like wine. You still need to ferment the grape juice – if you don’t then you just have grape juice – and it needs to be the right variety of grape, as not every varietal will stand up to the alcohol-extraction process. But Dyer reckons recent advances mean McGuigan Wines, who are the leaders in non-alcoholic wine in Australia and the UK, have nailed it at last with the Zero range. “We think we have changed the game when it comes to the quality of our alcohol-free wine, which is why it is proving so popular,” he says.
Wine time can be any time
It really wasn’t so long ago that wine drinking was regarded as fancy, special occasion, slightly elitist stuff. Those days are gone, but there can be a lingering pretension around it, and the view that it’s a bit more la-di-dah than, say, beer. But McGuigan strongly believes wine should be fine at any occasion.
“You don’t need a great excuse to have some time together with a perfect glass of wine,” says Dyer. “Our values are about those easy moments of relaxation, whether with family or friends, or in front of a box set. Wine styled for the occasion, brilliantly made, but drinkable without pretension, perfect from the first to the last sip.”
McGuigan Wines Black Label and Reserve ranges are available in most UK supermarkets. For more information, please go to: mcguiganwines.co.uk
