Australia.
Australian wines are pretty well known from our tradesmen’s circulars. For instance, there is the Gouais, the Carbinet, a soft wine like Burgundy, the Mataro, the Sauvignon. There is that “elegant dinner wine,” Kaludah, the Singleton Red or White Hermitage, “noted for its refinement”; the Tintara Ferruginous, of “immense power and generous quality”; the Tokay Imperatrice; and the Alexandrian Moscat, both poetically described as “abounding in memories of the sun which begot them,” and possessing the “most beautiful bouquet that can be imagined,” with a flavour “resembling the first crush in the mouth of three or four fine ripe Muscatel grapes—the large white oval ones—covered with a light bloom, and attached to a clean, thin stalk.”
Drs. Thudichum and Dupré, who are themselves indebted to a publication by Toovey, have given an excellent description of these wines. Verdeilho is a wine, like Madeira, of delicate aroma and a full body; Frontignac is described as a thin white wine with a slight taste of the Muscat grape, being a fictitious elderflower flavour; Malbee is described as made from “claret” grape; Tavoora is described as a pure “port” of 1859; Tintara, a red, clear wine; Adelaide, a pure white wine, mainly from Riessling grapes with a soupçon of Muscatel, “a little too fiery for greatness.” Wattlesville is an acidulous white wine. The poor and acid Chasselas, the strong-scented Highercombe, said to resemble good Sauterne, with many varieties of so-called claret, as Emu, St. Hubert, and so-called Hock, as Heron and Royal Reserve, are also imported from Australia. The Conatto is a rich liqueur with a flavour of Curaçoa and Rum Shrub combined.