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Keep An Open Mind

Written By: Brian Freedman on Friday, December 21, 2007

Australia

Perhaps it's a natural result of all the mass-produced wine coming out of Australia these days, those candy-sweet, adorably-labeled, perplexingly-beloved bottles that Americans can't seem to get enough of. Whatever the reason, far too many people look at Australian shiraz as some sort of monolith, a universally-styled wine that is the same everywhere it’s produced in the country. But of course, that just isn’t the case: Australia is a country with a fabulously varied terrain, a wide range of grape varieties, and enough native know-how to make some truly spectacular wines.

It's important to remember that the wine world is a big, complicated place. And while it’s absolutely possible to make certain generalizations that Burgundian pinot noir will tend to be lighter-bodied than its Russian River Valley counterparts, or that Napa cabernets will be flashier than those from Bordeaux—there are always exceptions. And even within certain regions, there are differences in how grape varieties are expressed: No one, for example, would ever confuse a Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux with the Richebourg bottling from the same producer, and these two grands crus aren’t all that far apart in the scheme of things.

The point is this: Keep your mind open, expect the unexpected, and open each bottle with as few preconceived notions as possible. It’s not always easy, but it will without a doubt make your wine-life far more interesting and rewarding.

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