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The Barossa Valley wine region is one of Australia's oldest wine regions.〔K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 792 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1-56305-434-5〕 Located in South Australia, the Barossa Valley is about 56 km (35 miles) northeast of the city of Adelaide. Unlike most of Australia whose wine industry was heavily influenced by the British, the wine industry of the Barossa Valley was founded by German settlers fleeing persecution from the Prussian province of Silesia〔N. Parode ''"(Barossa Valley: Australia's Flagship Wine Region )"'' Into Wine, Accessed: 15 January 2010〕 (in what is now Poland). The hot continental climate of the region promoted the production of very ripe grapes that was the linchpin of the early Australian fortified wine industry. As the modern Australian wine industry shifted towards red table wines (particularly those made by the prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon) in the mid-20th century, the Barossa Valley fell out of favor due to its reputation for being largely a Shiraz producers whose grapes were destined for blending. During this period the name "Barossa Valley" rarely appeared on wine labels. In the 1980s, the emergence of several boutique families specializing in old vine Shiraz wines began to capture international attention for the distinctive style of Barossa Shiraz, a full bodied red wine with rich chocolate and spice notes. This led to a renaissance in the Barossa Valley which catapulted the region to the forefront of the Australian wine industry.〔J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 312-314 Abbeville Press 2003 ISBN 0-7892-0883-0〕 Many of Australia's largest and most notable wineries are either headquartered or own extensive holdings in the Barossa Valley. These include such wineries as Penfolds, Peter Lehmann, Orlando Wines, Seppeltsfield, Wolf Blass and Yalumba. Many Shiraz vines in the Barossa Valley are several decades old, with some vineyards planted with old vines that are 100–150 years old including Turkey Flat in Tanunda that is home to the oldest commercially producing grape vines, originally planted in 1847.〔G. Harding ''"A Wine Miscellany"'' pg 20, Clarkson Potter Publishing, New York 2005 ISBN 0307346358〕 Other grape varieties grown in the Barossa Valley include Grenache, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay and Semillon.〔A. Bespaloff ''Complete Guide to Wine'' pg 286 Penguin Books 1994 ISBN 0-451-18169-7〕 In February 2011, South Australian Premier Mike Rann announced that special legislation would be introduced to protect the unique heritage of the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. Premier Rann said: "Barossa and McLaren Vale food and wine are key icons of South Australia. We must never allow the Barossa or McLaren Vale to become suburbs of Adelaide."〔891 ABC, 9 Feb 2011:"No Urban Sprawl into Wine Region"〕 The ''Character Preservation (Barossa Valley) Act 2012'' was subsequently passed by the South Australian Parliament.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/CHARACTER%20PRESERVATION%20(BAROSSA%20VALLEY)%20ACT%202012/CURRENT/2012.38.UN.PDF )〕 ==History== While most of Australia's wine industry was directly influenced by the involvement of the British, the Barossa Valley was shaped by the influence of German settlers fleeing persecution from the Prussian province of Silesia.〔Max Allen, ''The History of Australian Wine: Stories From the Vineyard to the Cellar Room'', Carlton, Victoria: Victory Books, 2012, p. 91〕 In 1841, the South Australian Company (under orders of one of its shareholders George Fife Angas) chartered three ships to Silesia to offer refuge and land in the Barossa Valley to any settler willing to volunteer to help establish the colony. Nearly 500 families accepted the offer and settled in the Barossa Valley. After trying many types of agricultural crops, the settlers found the warm fertile valley to be ideally suited for viticulture. The early years of the Barossa Valley winemaking ushered in a long period of trial and error for while the settlers were skilled farmers, their previous homeland of Silesia had little to no winemaking tradition.〔H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 348-349 Simon and Schuster 1989 ISBN 0-671-68702-6〕 The early focus of the Barossa Valley wine industry was on the production of Riesling, a German wine grape from the Rhineland. The hot valley floor contributed to a very ripe, alcoholic wine that would often turn brown.〔 Some of this wine was eventually distilled in brandy which ushered in a period of fortified wine production that coincided with the plantings of many red grape wine varieties like Shiraz and Grenache. These "port-style wines" would become the center of the Barossa Valley wine industry for decades to come. When the focus on the Australian wine industry shifted in the mid-20th century to production of premium, non-fortified wines, the Barossa Valley was regarded as an "inferior" wine region compared to cooler climate regions such as Coonawarra and Padthaway. This was partly due to the extensive association that the Barossa Valley had with Shiraz, including vast old vines plantings that were several decades old. During this period Shiraz was considered a very "common" variety that was not as fashionable as the prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon that was popular in the world's wine market.〔H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 308-309 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 ISBN 1-84000-332-4〕 Most of the grapes produced in the Barossa Valley during this time was used as part of anonymous blends with the name "Barossa Valley" rarely appearing on wine labels.〔 By the late 20th century, the reputation of the Barossa Valley started to change as several small boutique varieties began earning critical acclaim for their Barossa Valley wines. In particular, Barossa Shiraz became so well known internationally that it was considered its own unique style of Syrah that was distinctive of the grape's expression in other regions like Côte-Rôtie, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and California. This style of big, full bodied Shiraz with rich, chocolate and spice notes became synonymous with not only the Barossa Valley but with Australian wine in general. In the words of Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, the Barossa Valley became "''Australia's quintessential wine region''".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Barossa Valley (wine)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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