There are a lot of reasons to feel well disposed towards Australian wines. They led the world in introducing modern wine-making techniques. They introduced the screw-cap and invented the bag-in-box with a tap. They were the first to call their wines by the names of their grape varieties and their marketing has been brilliant. And at first it’s easy to like the wines. They don’t seem capable of making bad wines, and if you pay something between £5 and £10 you get a mouthful of huge fruit from the reds (usually Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon) or oaky vanilla if it’s white (almost always Chardonnay). But after a few bottles you find you only drink them round the ‘barbie’ or you start to look for something more; and that’s where the difficulties start.
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