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Introduction
Classification of Australian Wine
Wine Classification Level 1 - International Australian Wine Icon
Wine Classification Level 2 - International Australian Ultra Premium Wine
Wine Classification Level 3 - International Australian Super Premium Wine
Wine Classification Level 4 - International Australian Premium Wine
Wine Classification Level 5 - Rising Stars
The world is taking a very strong interest in Australian wine, and a recent e-mail from overseas prompted us to revisit a Classification System that we had been working on since May 2000.
Unlike other attempts to classify Australian wine into one catagory we have broken our classification down into 4 catagories.
(1) Red Wine
(2) White Wine
(3) Fortified Wine
(4) Sparkling Wine
Within these four catagories we have included all varieties of red, white etc. The rationale for this is that not enough wines have emerged from each varietal to produce a 5 tiered classification system. That is, at this point in time there are not enough Pinot Noirs, for example to fill the 5 catagories, although it could be argued that there is certainly enough Shiraz, Cabernets, Chardonnay, Riesling and Semillon.
We do not believe that the list can be cast in stone, due to dynamic and evolutionary nature of the Australian Wine Industry. Next years list may have some additions as well as some deletions. Delisting in our mind is justified when a producer releases a classified wine, which falls well short of the quality expectations demanded by the Classification system. In short, one strike and your out!
Please let us know your opinion - additions or deletions. Let the International debate begin.
Kind Regards,
Simon & Alex Chlebnikowski
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