My OperaDirect wines Have You Heard Of Margaret River Wines?
Monday, August 23, 2010 3:53:29 AM
One of the world's most vibrant wine regions is the area around Australia's Margaret River. Covering about a hundred and twenty kilometers north to south, from Cape Leeuiwin to Cape Naturaliste, it spreads around twenty-eight kilometers inland and is bordered by the Indian and Southern Oceans. It has been known for the quality of wine and table grapes since the first major plantings in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The region's wines really started taking off ten to twenty years ago, revitalizing the area's economy. Since the middle of the 1990s, the region has been called one of Australia's fastest growing economies. Wines from the area are exported around the world, and some varietals are quite famous and have won awards in their categories.
This region is one of the country's largest wine producers - about twenty percent of Australia's premium wines come from the Margaret River area. However, it's responsible for only three percent of the country's grape production. The area contains a large number of small, independent producers working to make great wines.
The climate in the area of the Margaret River region has been referred to by some as Mediterranean, with similarities to Bordeaux dry vintages. This dryness and pleasant temperature is among the many factors that have been attributed to the success of merlot and cabernet sauvignon produced in the area. They are not the only wines that Margaret River has to offer, of course.
The closeness to the coast influences the production of this region greatly, probably more than any other major producer in Australia. After all, there is only a seven degree annual range in temperature, resulting in even warmth.
Soil conditions are excellent in the Margaret River Wine Region, too - these deep loams allow the roots of the vines to dig deeply and deal with the dry summers without problems. Sloping sites are characteristic of good vineyars in the area, letting water be readily available without causing sogginess - few grapes are produced on each vine, but the ones which are have highly concentrated tastes.
The region also tends toward wet winters, dry summers, and nearly perfect humidity levels when the grapes need it most. The fruits that are produced in this kind of environment have a consistent high quality and intense taste.
This fruit is generally picked in a combination of machine and hand techniques to make sure that it is harvested when it's the ripest. Harvests usually occur between February and May, with the grapes, weather, and ripening determining when it the fruit will be picked.
All of these factors are responsible for wines that have intense flavor, deep color and a real robustness. This makes Margaret River among the most magical areas for production of cabernet sauvignon and its blends, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, shiraz and many others. If you want to experience the best that these wines have to offer, you should take a look at them.
Although the Margaret River Wine region is one of Australia's largest wine regions, it produces just 3 percent of total Australian grape production, but more than 20 percent of the nation's premium wines.Direct Wines: WSJ Wine
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