The Hunter Valley is unquestionably the best known and most highly prized wine region in NewSouthWales. Its most famous wine style is its distinctive Dry Semillon, while Shiraz, is also long-established. It is also regarded as a pioneer of Australian Chardonnay.
Hunter Valley Semillon
Semillon was first planted here in the 1830s.
Hunter Valley Semillons are renowned for their ability to improve with age. The better examples develop in bottle for more than 15 years.
Classic examples are made simply from early picked fruit and bottled Young, with Alcohol levels between 10 and 12 percent. The wines start out with a fresh, grassy, citrus taste with tangy Acidity.
However they evolve into Golden wines with nutty, honeyed notes and a luscious mouthfeel. Though unoaked and not having undergone malolactic fermentation, they can be mistaken for oaky chardonnays, even by experienced tasters.
The valley's relationship with Chardonnay is 100 years shorter, but no less significant. It was here that Australia's first Chardonnay was made – from vines planted by the Tyrrell winery of Pokolbin in 1968.
The vermentino grape variety was widespread in Italy, Sardinia and Corsica. Today, Vermentino is grown in the regions bordering the Mediterranean, mainly in Provence (Côtes de Provence, Bellet), Corsica (Corse Calvi), Languedoc (Côtes du Roussillon, Costières de Nîmes) and the Rhône Valley (Côtes du Luberon). Because it ripens late, Vermentino requires a warm climate for its development and can only be grown in regions with good sun exposure. Conversely, cold or temperate climates do not allow it to ripen properly. Vermentino is only susceptible to powdery mildew. When vinified on its own, Vermentino produces a single-variety dry white wine that is light and full-bodied with a pale yellow color. It can also be blended with other grape varieties such as Ugni Blanc, Cinsault and Grenache, in which case its low acidity makes it light and fresh. Vermentino belongs to the grape varieties of Ajaccio, Corsica and Corbières. The aromas released by this variety are multiple. One can detect notes of fresh apple, green almond, sweet spices, hawthorn, ripe pear and fresh pineapple.
white wines from the region of Hunter Valley go well with generally quite well with dishes of rich fish (salmon, tuna etc), shellfish or sweet desserts such as recipes of salmon in brick pastry, parsley knives or very simple muffins.
