Wizards of Oz

Ask the average customer to name an Australian wine and 10 to one they will come up with Chardonnay. But get them to tell you where in Australia it comes from and they probably won't have a clue.

The catch-all description of Australian wine is South-east Australian, a virtually meaningless tag that covers a whole range of wine-producing areas, from the humid Hunter Valley in New South Wales to the cool-climate Adelaide Hills.

Ten years ago when producers were trying to break into the market, labelling a wine "Australian" made good commercial sense. It was also partly true as many of the wine's component parts were trucked for miles across state boundaries.

But now that Australia holds 40% of retail wine sales in the £4-£5 bracket in the UK, labelling wines merely by their grape variety brings hotels and restaurants into head-on competition with the multiples. Customers are likely to go for the names they find familiar - and compare the mark-up unfavourably.

Australian restaurants themselves suffered this problem because of the widespread popularity of Bring Your Own. Many wineries are now producing wines especially for restaurants in order to give them something distinctive to offer.

This is beginning to happen here too. Importer Mentzendorff has just released two attractively packaged brands from Petaluma, targeted at the restaurant market. These are Sharefarmers White, a zesty blend of unoaked Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and Sharefarmers Red, a youthful blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Both are available at £56.85 a case from Mentzendorff on 0171-415 3200. North London wholesaler Bibendum is thinking along similar lines.

But the most promising way for hotels and restaurants to cash in on Australian wine is to promote an increasing consciousness of regionality - something the supermarkets haven't yet tackled. By doing this, caterers can create a focus of interest for wine-lovers rather than positioning Australian wine as a safe option for those who want to keep costs down.

What makes this possible is that the Aussies themselves have discovered the advantages of planting grapes in the climate and position that most suits them. All the big boys in the industry are diversifying like crazy, planting new vineyards and snapping up smaller companies which can give them the regional portfolio they are looking for. The BRL Hardy group, for example, now has vineyards in Western Australia (Moondah Brook), McLaren Vale (Château Reynella), the Barossa (Ebenezer) and Clare Valley (Leasingham).

The Hunter Valley-based Rosemount winery in New South Wales is now making reds in Coonawarra and McLaren Vale, and using the cool climate of the Orange region to extend its range of whites.

Modern classics

This diversification has also exploded the myth that certain grapes don't work in Australia. Australia can make classic cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc in the Adelaide Hills and it can make superb Pinot Noir.

Not all Australian Chardonnays are big, oaky monsters packed with tropical fruit: look at the elegant Burgundian style of James Halliday's Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley or Leeuwin Estate's Art Series Chardonnay from Western Australia, or the light, unwooded Chardonnays making their way in the market.

Australia is also proving that it can produce convincing sparklers in cooler-climate areas such as Tasmania, which produces the impressive Jansz (Haughton Agencies: 01502 727288).

Someone who has developed a regional Australian wine list and proved it can work is John Guy of the Hollington House hotel, near Newbury, Berkshire. Guy divides his list of more than 1,000 different Australian wines by state, then within each state by region. Under Victoria, he lists wines from Rutherglen, Bendigo, the Pyrenees, Great Western, the Yarra Valley and Gippsland.

While the fact that he is Australian gives him a head start in building up such an in-depth list, he believes restaurants could make much more of their Australian wine selections.

"Australia has great diversity - some regions are fabulous for Cabernet, some for Pinot Noir, while others are great white wine areas. Just listing the wines by grape variety doesn't do Australia justice." So successful has this approach been that 85% of his sales are now from Australian wines.

The only drawback to building up a regionally based Australian list is cost. At the moment, the wines that proclaim their region are at the top end of the market. But the growing consciousness of regionalism should soon work its way through to create lower prices.

With an adventurous public willing to trade up and experience better-quality Australian wines, and an industry determined to prove that it is among the top wine-producing nations in the world, now is the time to start to build your Australian list.

Australian wine regions

South Australia The backbone of the Australian wine industry, more than 50% of its production is here. Generally the climate is hot and very dry - this is predominantly red wine country. Look to the Barossa Valley for classic Aussie Shiraz, Coonawarra for Cabernet, and McLaren Vale for soft, lush reds. Watch out too for up-and-coming South Australian whites - Chardonnay from Clare, Riesling from the Eden Valley, and some fine white wines from the Adelaide Hills.

Victoria Slowly developing its own identity. The most exciting area is the Yarra Valley - which has been described as the "Burgundy of Australia". Watch out, too, for wines from new cool climate areas such as the Mornington Peninsula and plantings of Italian varietals such as Pinot Grigio, Barbera and Nebbiolo. Victoria is the source of two Aussie classics - Marsanne and liqueur Muscats from Rutherglen.

New South Wales Hot, humid and much more unsettled weather than South Australia, New South Wales' Hunter Valley isn't the easiest place to make wine. It's still primarily distinguished for its classics - Chardonnay, Sémillon and Shiraz. New areas to watch for are Orange and Mudgee.

Western Australia Although Western Australia produces 1.4% of Australia's wine, it also produces some of its finest. The best known area is the Margaret River, home to wineries such as Cape Mentelle, Cullens, Leeuwin and Moss Wood. Other areas to look out for include Mount Barker and Swan Valley.