The International Cool Climate Wine Show Awards Dinner 2009

Exploring cool climate wines in style

Robyn Lewis

International Cool Climate Wine Show 2009

The stage was set at the International Cool Climate Wine Show Presentation Dinner at Red Hill, in the heart of the Mornington Peninsula hinterlands.

During the last week of February, the Showgrounds pavilion was transformed, firstly into a wine-judging hall - where twenty expert wine judges from Australia and overseas sniffed, swirled and spat 600 cool-climate wines in their quest to award the medals and trophies - and then into the venue for an elegant dinner, sponsored by Mornington BMW, Peninsula Bulk Meats and Tourism Tasmania.

This was no ordinary occasion; around 250 ‘movers and shakers’ of the local and national wine and hospitality industries attended, and were ready to party. The hall looked inviting as guests were treated firstly to flights of cool-climate sparkling along wihth canapes, then to other varieties, from pinot gris to pinot noir, sauvignon blanc to chardonnay, and some restrained shiraz. More delightful food arrived with fanfare courtesy of Max’s of Red Hill Estate, and all wine entries were available for tasting – this year from 130 competing producers. The night was fun and fantastic - indeed, a unique and enjoyable event, fast becoming a must on wine-lovers’ calendars.

One third of the wines shown at the 2009 ICCWS were from the Mornington Peninsula and a quarter from New Zealand; Tasmania, the Yarra Valley, Gippsland, Geelong and the Port Phillip region made up the balance. But other regions that one might not normally think of as ‘cool’ can be included – parts of the Adelaide Hills and Denmark in WA, for example. So what defines a cool climate wine, and why are they special?

The coolest wine region of Australia is obviously Tasmania, but little is it realised that Hobart is almost the same latitude south as Madrid and Rome are north. Thus all of that most famous wine country of the world, France, lies further from the equator than any of our Antipodean wine regions save those of southernmost New Zealand.

Of course, they have the Mediterranean and the Gulf Stream to warm things up, we have the Antarctic and Southern Ocean doing the reverse, so the challenge is finding the balance. Hobart or indeed the Mornington Peninsula can never compete with Rome in the warmth stakes. But nor would they want to; for the grapes, that is. Wine grapes, and indeed any temperate fruits, ripen better and have superior flavour when exposed to long hours of gentle sunlight – warm, summer evenings, but not too hot – like those best spent touring wine regions in a convertible….

Indeed, for that most fussy of cool-climate varieties, pinot noir, any day over 26°C is a bad-hair day – thus proximity to cooling sea breezes when the mercury climbs is beneficial. Too hot and more sugar and hence higher alcohol content result, but without the flavour. Each grape variety differs in its tolerance to heat, but all have one thing in common – the need for extended ripening time to develop maximum flavours and nuances of character which are then carried through into the wine. It is these characters that the wine judges seek.

What defines a cool-climate wine? To some it depends on ‘heat degree days’ – a complicated formula that includes some regions that can top 40°C in summer. Elevation also plays a part. But do their wines exhibit the subtleties of flavour and length on the palate that one expects from good cool-climate wine? The ICCWS have instead drawn a line at latitude 37.5° S (or N) and with an average summer temperature (day and night) of 19°C – meaning this year, for example, Orange was excluded.

Australia’s cool climate regions are perfect for exploring; it seems that nature has also blessed them with wonderful scenery and a diversity of other attractions. And of course where there is good wine there is also good food; the more local, the fresher and superior the flavour also. The old orchardists of the Mornington Peninsula had it right – where you find good fruit country you’ll also find good grapes, and in the hands of skilled winemakers, cool climate means nirvana.


A review of the trophy and medal winners can be found on the link below.  The show and dinner is hosted by ASN events for the Red Hill Show Society.

Mornington BMW is a major show sponsor, and along with Tourism Tasmania and Peninsula Bulk Meats also sponsor the dinner event. This article has also appeared in the March edition of Seaside, the magazine of Mornginton BMW.





 

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• Mornington Peninsula (VIC)

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