Australian and New Zealand Wine For Dummies

Maryann Egan is the wine writer for Donna hay magazine, a leading food magazine in Australia. Also she lectured in the wine appraisal course for the Charles Sturt Oenology Degree. For Maryann, Life began among the vines and wine when, in 1963, her father established Wantirna Estate vineyard in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. Growing up with a wine-mad family (traipsing through the vineyards of Europe for holidays) Prepared her for a life in the wine business. Wantirna is now her main focus. Wantirna Estate is tiny in comparison with some of the huge Australian wine business but size doesn't have to count. her father primarily looks after the vines, Maryann looks after the wines and her mother looks after the computer stuff. The winery makes for wines, each proudly named after a granddaughter-Isabella Chardonnay, Lily Pinot Noir, Amelia Cabernet Merlot and Hannah and, in doing so, spends a lot of time in the vineyard maximizing the potential quality of the fruit. Maryann's work experience in the wine industry began after completing a physical education degree. Backpacking on a trip to Europe, she worked a vintage in Burgundy with Sophie Confuron at Jean Jacques Confuron in Premauz-Prissey, France. A year in Paris learning French followed. On returning to Australia, she traded physical education for a degree in oenology ( more commonly known as wine science), at  Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. Maryann then worked for a few years at the family winery, interspersed with vintages in the NSW Hunter Valley winery, Tyrell's Wines, and in Bordeaux, France, in the Mèdoc wine region. She returned to Australia to take up a winemaking position with Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley, where she remained for almost six years as a winemaker before leaving to have her first daughter. Maryann became a regular contributor to the Australian Gourmet Traveler Wine magazine and was a member of the magazine's main tasting panel. As part o f this role, she was a judge for the prestigious 'The Wine Magazine Winemaker of the Year' award.

Introduction. PART I: THE BIG WINE PICTURE DOWN IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.

Chapter 1. Australian and New Zealand Wines: A Success Story.

Chapter 2. Uncorking Australian and New Zealand Wines.

Chapter 3. Decoding Aussie and Kiwi wine Labels.

Chapter 4. Bringing Home the Bounty: Modern Ways and Means.

PART II: HEADING TO NORTH OZ FOR THE WINE: NEW SOUTH WALES AND QUEENSLAND.

Chapter 5. The Hunter Valley.

Chapter 6. The Wine Bounty of Mudgee.

Chapter 7. Rounding Out the Smaller Top Spots in New South Wales.

Chapter 8. The Bouquet of the River Region.

Chapter 9. Travelling North to Sunshine and Wine in Queensland.

PART III: VICTORIA AND TASMANIA: SOMETHING DEVILISH ABOUT THOSE WINES.

Chapter 10. The Wines of the Yarra Valley.

Chapter 11. Victoria's Wine-Diverse Heartland.

Chapter 12. Heading North to Northern Victoria.

Chapter 13. Down by the Sea: The Peninsulas and Gippsland.

Chapter 14. Sunbury and Macedon Ranges.

Chapter 15.  Tasmania: Wines of a Cool Climate.

PART IV: THE WINE REGIONS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Chapter 16. Meandering through McLaren Vale.

Chapter 17. Ambling around Adelaide.

Chapter 18. A Tale of Three Valleys: Barossa, Eden and Clare.

Chapter 19. Along the Limestone Coast.

Chapter 20. Riverland: On the Banks of the Mighty Murray.

Chapter 21. Capital Stuff in and around Perth.

Chapter 22. South West Australia: Beaches, Forests and Sunshine.

Chapter 23. Fulfilling Its Promise: The Great Southern Land.

PART V: NEW ZEALAND WINES.

Chapter 24: Liquid Gold from New Zealand's North Island.

Chapter 25. Liquid Distinction from New Zealand's Cool South Island.

PART VI: THE PART OF TENS.

Chapter 26. Ten Best Web Sites for Wine Buffs.

Chapter 27. Ten (Plus a Few) Best Wines in Australia and New Zealand.

Chapter 28. Ten (Plus One) Of the Best Winery Cellar Doors.

Appendix. Publications to Keep You Right Up to Date.

Index.