My Article: No Jam Juice Yet

I have received a couple of emails from friends in the United States asking me why I have not been ranting and raving about jammy, high alcohol wines. They know how much I despise mouth-burning high alcohol wines with residual sugar, and they just assume that's the sort of wine Australia makes.

Honestly, I haven’t found any high alcohol jam bombs in my travels on the wine continent, but I may very soon when I arrive in the Barossa Valley in a few days.

What I have encountered so far from Hunter Valley, Beechworth, Yarra Valley, Gripland, Great Western and other appellations has been balanced and fresh wines with surprisingly low alcohol. For example, many of the Pinot Noirs have lower alcohol than Burgundy. It's the same with Chardonnay. 

The Syrahs, or Shiraz, were also relatively low in alcohol with very few reaching 13.5 percent alcohol. They have more spice, black pepper and red fruits. They are very Northern Rhone, but with Aussie definition as well.

I don't think that Aussie winemakers are intentionally picking early to make lower alcohol wines. But they are certainly interested in making drinkable and balanced wines, and they want their wines to reflect the origins of their vineyards. The top new school winemakers don't want their wines overpowered by overripe fruit and too much wood.