Ep 164: Yarra Valley of Australia with Simone Madden-Grey

Introducing Simone Madden-Grey, our new "down under" correspondent, who will be helping us explore the world of wines from Australia and New Zealand. After meeting her and learning of her fascinating background we discuss the Yarra Valley, an excellent cool climate region of Australia. 

Simone's Web site, Happy Wine Woman: https://happywinewoman.com 

And a link to her blog, where she discusses her favorites from Yarra:  http://wp.me/p3fxzw-Jt

What did we discuss in this episode?:

1. An introduction: Who is Simone? Our new correspondent for Australia and New Zealand and founder of Happy Wine Woman services/writing

2. What is going on in Australia at large? An overview and discussion

3. What is the Yarra Valley and why did we choose to do the first podcast on it?

• We discuss the high wine quality, its differentiation from traditional Australian styles, and the importance of it in the revival of Australia’s global image

4. What is Yarra? Overview

• 1 hour from Melbourne
• Some historical details
• The reputation as a large, diverse area with many wine styles, although known mostly for restrained Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, along w sparkling 
• 37˚ S latitude -- same as Mendoza in Argentina, southern Bio Bio in Chile. 37˚N -- Santa Cruz, CA, Virginia, Sicily, Peloponnese
• Coolest part of mainland Australia  
• Diversity: Valley Floor v Upper Yarra, Mediterranean v continental climate, rainfall levels

5. Grapes/Wine:

• Chard and Pinot 60% of production, but Cabernet and Shiraz big players too.
• Simone tells us what to expect from these wines from a flavor perspective. 

Here's Simone's full list of Yarra Valley wineries:

Yeringberg http://www.yeringberg.com/

Yering Station http://www.yering.com/

Yarra Yering http://www.yarrayering.com/

Giant Steps http://www.giantstepswine.com.au/

Innocent Bystander http://www.innocentbystander.com.au/

Domaine Chandon http://www.chandon.com.au/

Out of Step http://www.outofstepwineco.com/

Salo http://www.salowines.com.au/

Arfion http://www.arfion.com.au/

Payten and Jones https://paytenandjoneswine.com.au/

Jamsheed http://jamsheed.com.au/

Warramate Wines http://warramatewines.com.au/

De Bortoli http://debortoliyarra.com.au/de-bortoli-yarra-valley.html