News

New book: How to make Australian wine unique

Media Release, Thursday 13 November 2003

Noted wine critic and columnist, Mr Max Allen will tomorrow launch 'Soils for Fine Wines', a book that explores the characteristics that make a wine unique and traces these back to the environment and culture that brought the grape to the winery.

The author is Professor Robert White, a soil scientist from the University of Melbourne's School of Resource Management. His book examines the French concept of terroir, which suggests that the unique characteristics of a wine are determined by the interaction between the soils, climate, grape variety and cultural methods used in the vineyard.

Media are invited to the launch at the University of Melbourne. Details are below.

Professor White looked at wines worldwide and traced the links between each wine's characteristics and the region in which it is produced.

"The surge in production of quality wines in countries such as Australia, Argentina and the USA has been built largely on the practice of good oenology and investment in high technology in the winery, enabling vintners to produce consistently good, even fine wines. Yet, relatively little attention has been paid to the influence of vineyard conditions on wines and their distinctiveness," says Professor White.

The concept of terroir has been applied for centuries in countries such as France and Italy," he says.

"Australian wineries and vineyards are only just beginning to embrace the idea and its potential as a management, marketing and branding tool for their own wines," he says.

Soils for fine wines will give the reader a sound understanding of the best practices for managing the diverse Australian soils for the purpose of optimising the value of wines.

This book contains technical information of interest to viticulturists, wine-makers, and consultants to the wine industry. But with detailed illustrations and full color photos from the great wine regions of the world it should also appeal to amateur wine buffs who want to learn about the wide range of soil variation that occurs naturally, and how this variation may influence wine character.

The launch will feature tasting of award-winning wines from the vineyards sited on the red soils of the Dookie campus and surrounding region.

'Soils for Fine Wines' is published by Oxford University Press