wine

[crazie]

is australian red wine really the best wine in the world??????

[Ethel]

No.

[Rock'n'Roll]

would have thought it was matter of taste. my two favourites are both Australian.
Like Californian wines,they are consistently good,maybe the climate helps

[JanL]

My favourite for white is Italian. A nice Soave or Frascati, but I also like Muscadet which is French.

[Buenchico]

I've written quite a few (published) articles about wine over the years. I won't bore you with loads of information about grapes, regions, vintages, etc but I'll just give you a summary brief summary of my own opinions:

The best red wines in the world still come from France. I should make it clear, however, that I'm referring to clarets that cost at least �30 per bottle (for a 'half-decent' vintage wine) but with the really good stuff starting at around �50 per bottle.

If you're looking for the best red wines around �3 to �4, then your safest bet has to be something from South America.

Taking the budget up to �5 or �6, there's a wide range to choose from but, if you asked me to select on the basis of 'country of origin' alone, I'd be looking at wines from Italy or Spain.

It's when you take the price up to around �8 to �12 per bottle that you start to find some really great Australian reds. (Below that price, the only really good Ozzy wines are whites). Whether the Australian wines in this price range are 'the best', however, is a matter of personal taste. (A few USA producers have interesting reds in this price range. Personally, though, I think that I'd stick with Spain or Italy for the best wines at this price).

Chris

[lia*]

no. in my opinion it's not. some are really awfull.
italian red wines are the best red wine i have tasted, and i have tried many.

[sophie_1003]

i spose it depends what sort of red wine you like (for general use anyway, don't want to spend 30 quid on a bottle every time!) I prefer fruity red wines and they seem to be the australian and californian ones

[Narolines]

Definitely not. It lacks finesse and complexity, has no subtlety and generally has a very short finish. For me there's no contest - French reds are the best, followed by Italian and then (controversial here!) good (and I stress GOOD) Cypriot, which in the main are produced from Burgundian vines introduced by the Lusignians. Don't look for them in the UK though - they're VERY rarely exported; the stuff that finds its way out of Cyprus is generally very inferior. Taste in wine is very personal though - I have friends with quite well-developed palates who love new-world chardonnays, which I find too buttery; I prefer European chardonnays, grown on poor, chalky soil, which they find too acidic. You pays your money...........

[maxi29]

Buenchico's got it spot on. You can find decent Australian reds, but you have to spend a lot to buy it. If I were buying cheap wine (�5 to 7,say) I'd go for something south American, or possibly something from the south of France. Australian wine at that price is truly disgusting, over-sugared and too alcoholic.

If I had the money to buy something a bit better, I'd still rather buy French than a good Australian.

At the very top of the scale, there was a blind wine tasting a few weeks ago, where several wine experts declared the top wines in the world to be Californian (which sounds less impressive when you see that there were more Americans than French doing the tasting).

[shopalot]

only when you need wine to cook with!