New ground rules

Australian wines have a particular taste. The standard rules and methods of production emphasise high acid levels that lead to a “rich sweet wine, with an acid kick at the end”, Decanter magazine wine writer Andrew Jefford says. That description could be applied to the wine industry as a whole. For a long time the industry has had a sweet and rich ride to the export market but now the strategy of producing cheap wine for overseas markets has come back with a stinging bite, reports BRW.