Sometimes they call Australian wines, the wines of distinction. One reason the wines stand out is because they are grown in regions best suited for a particular kind of grape.
Some wineries produce only certain types of wine. For example, the Reisling comes from the Clare Valley, Yarra Yarra for Chardonnay, Shiraz from Barossa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawara.

At a point in time, there were only either French wines or Italian wines. If anything else was offered, there was suspicion. Now, you can find Aussie wines of all varieties and they are practically standard issue.

Australia is largely barren land, but there are some areas that are of the right climate and fertile grounds that can churn out some delightfully good but inferior wines. The most famous are in the Hunter Valley, just north of Sydney, and Barossa Valley, a couple hours outside of Adelaide. The next most popular wine-tasting area is Margaret River. The wineries in these areas do not produce as much of the romance-enhancing liquid, but they do pride themselves on making it premium quality.

Wine tasting is like a science. You get to perfect your craft. Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onwards. Modern, professional wine tasters such as sommeliers or buyers for retailers are constantly-evolving formal terminology which is used to describe the range of perceived flavors, aromas and general characteristics of a wine. More informal, recreational tasting may use similar terminology, usually involving a much less analytical process for a more general, personal appreciation. You are evaluating by:

· the “in glass” fragrance
· “in mouth” sensations
· “finish” (aftertaste)

These are combined in order to establish the following properties of a wine: complexity and character

· potential (suitability for aging or drinking)
· possible faults

A wine’s overall quality assessment, based on this examination, follows further careful description and comparison with recognized standards, both with respect to other wines in its class.

Make the trek through the wineries and learn to educate your palate. The more you practice through the tasting, the more refined your palate will become. Who knows, you may just become a sommelier.