Comparing Burgundy And Adelaide Hills Wine Regions

Choose two (2) wine regions that grow similar grape varieties and compare the characteristics of the regions. You should select one (1) wine region from within Australia and one (1) Old-World wine region from Europe. Create a report in which they address following:

Provide an overview of the chosen wine regions

Discuss the history of the chosen wine regions and the development of wine & other beverages in these regions over time.

Discuss how the different styles of wine are produced in both chosen regions and explain each step-in detail from vine to bottle.

Consider the characteristics of the vineyard, grape growing techniques, harvesting & production methods and discuss the factors that impact on quality.

Explain the classifications and legislative requirements related to wine production for both regions.

Wine is one of the oldest things in the history. It is consumed for many reasons by different people. Mother Nature provides everything for the making of wine. However, it is up to the human hands for embellishing, improving or completely eradicating what the nature has provided to the ones having extensive wine tasting experience could attest. However, this paper is going to elaborate on describing and exploring two wine regions from Europe and Australia, namely Burgundy (Bourgogne) and Adelaide Hills respectively. The common grape variety present in these region is that of Chardonnay. This report shall present a brief overview of these wine regions and would also present a brief history of these along with the development of wines and other beverages here, over time. It would also assess the different styles of wines that are produced here and would lastly, provide a detail of the legislative requirements related to wine production for both the regions.

Europe is considered to be the top wine production country in the world but it is at present reducing the production of wine each year. However, Burgundy is one of the most significant wine producing region of France, present in the eastern part of the country. The key grape varieties of this region are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (Herrero et al., 2016). The others include Sauvignon Blanc, Aligote etc. It is also to note that there are a total of four different classification in Burgundy and they are- the commune, district/regional and the other two are the kinds of single vineyard communes- grand cru and premier cru. Also, the key red wines communes in Burgundy are Nuits-St-Georges, Gevry-Chambertin, Pommard, Beaune and Volna. On the other hand, the white wine communes are Macon, Puligny-Montrachet, Pouilly-Fuisse and Chablis.

Adelaide Hills is a cool climate wine region of Australia present in the Mount Lofty Ranges of Adelaide, which is the capital of South Australia. It has more than 90 wine labels. The most common grape plantings here are the Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Fris. The varietals of red wines comprise of 32.7% and the white wines varietals comprise of 67.3% of the total plantings. This region is widely popular for its distinctive premium wines. Furthermore, the quality of early wines had attracted the attention of the region. There are 3052ha area of vineyards in this region.

History of the chosen wine regions and the development of wine and other beverages in these regions over time.

Discussion

Burgundy is widely known for its excellence in white and red wines. Winemaking and Vineyards are the most important parts of Burgundy (Burgundy, 2018). Vines in this region are regarded to be a part of history of Burgundy. In very village and town, right from Chablis to Macon, wine making and vines are the core of everything here (Berard, 2016). Grape growing, wine making and the selling of wines have shaped the entire region for more than 2000 years. The Roman winemakers from 3^rd century BC were at their work in Burgundy and they had produced several different types of concentrates beverages which are seasoned with diverse types of herbs and they used to add honey to them for making them sweet. The commerce and the making of the Burgundy wine has remained firmly in the hands of the negotiators after the World War II. However, in present date, the production of wine has decreased because of the low production of wines and the presence of different brands of one wine present in the market. With the same, there are several owners of vineyards and they differ in terms of their level of dedication and capability.

The Adelaide hills are the key area of wine production in Australia. Right from the very early settlement in Adelaide, vines were regarded as a significant part of Adelaide’s history (Robinson & Harding, 2015). Bussells were the ones who had planted vines in this hills during the mid-eighties. They had done so for using them as table grapes for the preparation of wines for their own families. However, it is to mention that the continuous deforestation in this place has made it tough for the people here to make huge production in recent years. Notwithstanding this fact, the quality of wines that this region provide has been attracted people all around the world towards this place and its wines and in recent years, they are even exported to foreign countries as well.

Burgundy has three different styles of wines to offer to its consumers. They are- the dry white wines, the medium body red wines and the dull body red wines. Majority of the red wines of Burgundy are made of Pinot Noir grape variety, grown in this region, while the white ones are made of Chardonnay grape variety. Burgundy is considered to be the “terroir” of grapes that expresses the characters of wines- aromatic, elegant and complex. On the other hand, Adelaide hills are widely known as the most productive wine region present in South Australia (“Adelaide Hills Wine”, 2018). It is famous for offering European styles of wines. The most common grape plantings here are the Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Fris.

History of the chosen wine regions and the development of wine and other beverages in these regions over time

The wines that comes out of the regions of Burgundy are AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) or AOC (Appellation d'origine controlee) system. AOC or AOP are the systems that were established in the year 1950 as the responses to the issue of mislabelling of wines in France (Berard, 2016). It is also to mention that the governing body of INAO (Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité) had created these systems for providing the consumers a guarantee of quality for the wines as according to the guidelines which are been set forth by the producers and the growers of this region (Reinboth, Clark & Taddeo, 2017). It is also to note that there are three tiers in this system of AOP and they are Vin de, IGP and AOC (mentioned in Figure 1.)

Figure 1: France Wine Classification

As far as Adelaide hills is concerned, it is to note that as mentioned in the Australian Grape and Wine Authority Act, Section 39H, if the wine related goods are changes or are being influenced or affected by any means, it is very important to keep a track of them or an audit trail that is comprised of the history of the changes of those goods and that too, in easily traceable records (Saltman et al., 2017). It is also very important to keep a check on those records on a regular basis by following the steps for the recorded. Also, the grape varieties which the organisations like the IPGRI, OIV and UPOV have recognised are permitted to be declared on ‘Australian labels of wines’. According to this act, the production of wines in Australia is been governed by the 4.5.1 of Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Wines are the products that are made from complete or partial fermentation of fresh grapes and sometimes, the mixture of the product that is derived from the grapes. With the same, it is also mention that the fortified wines in this region contains the wines that add grape spirit or caramel or sometimes, brandy. Furthermore, the sparkling wines are the products which contain wines and also sugars in it, which becomes bloated with the use of carbon dioxide. It may or may not comprise of sugars, grape spirit and brandy. Furthermore, it is also to mention that according to the legislative requirements of Australia, the sparkling wines are required to contain over 5gm/lt. of carbon dioxide at 20° Centigrade ("Australian Grape and Wine Authority Act 2013", 2018). The approved activities for the wine production in Australia along with the fortified and the sparkling wine is in figure 2.

Figure 2: lists the approved additives for the production of wine, sparkling wine and fortified wine

Conclusion

Hence, from the above analysis it is clear the Burgundy of France and Adelaide hills of Australia have built their international reputation as being the key hub of fine quality wines. These two regions produce wines that match the best wines blends of the world. It is also to note that although Burgundy is not so very big in size but it still has a significant impact in the world of winemaking and vines. These two places are the hubs for some most exorbitant wines in the world. Also, the Adelaide hills is claimed to be the mantle of modern Australian Chardonnay. It has a cool climate and appropriate environment for the production of fine wines.

References:

Adelaide Hills Wine. (2018).Retrieved from https://www.adelaidehillswine.com.au/

Australian Grape and Wine Authority Act 2013. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2014C00371

Bérard, L. (2016). Terroir and the sense of place. Research handbook on intellectual property and geographical indications. Edward Elgar, 72.

Burgundy | History, Culture, Geography, & Map. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Burgundy

Herrero, P., Sáenz-Navajas, P., Culleré, L., Ferreira, V., Chatin, A., Chaperon, V., ... & Escudero, A. (2016). Chemosensory characterization of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir base wines of Champagne. Two very different varieties for a common product. Food chemistry, 207, 239-250.

Reinboth, E., Clark, B., & Taddeo, K. (2017). The laws of responsible wine labelling. Bulletin (Law Society of South Australia), 39(1), 16.

Robinson, J., & Harding, J. (Eds.). (2015). The Oxford companion to wine. American Chemical Society.

Saltman, Y., Johnson, T. E., Wilkinson, K. L., Ristic, R., Norris, L. M., & Bastian, S. E. (2017). Natural Flavor Additives Influence the Sensory Perception and Consumer Liking of Australian Chardonnay and Shiraz Wines. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, ajev-2016.