We've only got 10 days to rethink the division of the wine universe. "Old World" and "New World" are handy labels - the first conjuring up images of historic estates, the second somehow transmitting flashy signals about new methods, new money and acres of stainless steel. But they are misleading. Next Tuesday week, Dublin welcomes the winemakers of Australia's Barossa Valley - a New World region whose traditions beat the socks off large chunks of snooty Europe for age and venerability. It's a splendid chance to taste wines which are among Australia's best.
North-east of Adelaide, the flat-bottomed Barossa Valley was settled in the early 1840s by dissident Prussian Lutherans. Taking up the deal proposed by an English entrepreneur, George Fife Angas (whose name lives on in sparkling Angas Brut), they established mixed farms on long, narrow strips of ground that make the valley look like a strikingly uniform patchwork quilt even today.
In went vines, along with fruit trees and cereals - all flourishing in the warmth. So it came about that 130-140 years ago - well before Chile or California had vineyards worth talking about - the Barossa was a byword for top quality grapes.
But that's only part of the story. The fascination of the Barossa, and the well-deserved success of its distinctive wine styles today, hinge as much on its unshakeable Germanic roots as on the deep roots of the old vines it has learnt to prize. Tightly knit and resolutely traditional, the descendants of the original settlers have clung together through six generations, passing on inherited skills and a fierce work ethic, together with a taste for home-smoked wurst and heartstopping cakes.
"Barossans believe deeply that they are guardians of the land, with a duty to hand it on to the next generation in better shape than they received it," explains Margaret Lehmann, whose husband Peter is just one of many leading producers with German looks and German names. By common consent, however, his is the most important name. "Peter Lehmann is a hero - a giant," says winemaker Andrew Wigan: and while some may wince (with a touch of sour grapes) at the magnitude of the big man's profile, they will probably agree that Lehmann has more right than anybody else to be called the Baron of the Barossa. Twice, when times were tough, he galvanised the region into action to protect its heritage - helping to save local growers in the 1970s when the multinational "grocers", then in charge of many wineries, spurned them; fighting to save vineyards when a wine glut in the early 1980s dictated they should be ploughed up.
When the rest of Australia was going Cabernet-mad, Lehmann and his fellow Barossans stuck with the valley's traditional Shiraz and Grenache - as fundamental a part of their culture as choirs and churches, pork and pickles. Old vines, grown without irrigation, are the secret of powerfully concentrated, complex wines, whose worth is increasingly recognised. "I'm always accused of being over-optimistic and over-romantic, but I truly believe it is now inevitable that the wines of the Barossa will become as rare and celebrated as those of Bordeaux and Burgundy," says Robert O'Callaghan, a passionate winemaker, who rejected the hightech approach in favour of an ancient basket press and old slate open fermenters when he set up Rockford Wines in a cottage 15 years ago.
Working with zealous commitment in their small-scale wineries, O'Callaghan, Stephen Henschke and Charlie Melton are among those who have achieved remarkable results. Below I've included a list of some of the brightest jewels in the Barossa crown - wines which you may not be able to buy, because of their high price and limited availability, but which are certainly worth tasting any time you get the chance. Not all the jewels are rubycoloured, however. Visiting this exciting strip of South Australia, I was struck with almost equal force by intensely rich red wines and some stunning whites, about which we hear far too little. The valley floor produces wonderfully ripe Semillon - lemony in its youth and gradually assuming smoky richness in old age. Higher up, in nearby Eden Valley, conditions are just right for aromatic, lime-fresh Riesling.
It was mainly on this higher ground, incidentally, that the first English emigrants to the Barossa settled - many becoming involved in grape-growing with their Prussian neighbours. Yalumba, the oldest family-owned winery in Australia, was founded in 1849 by an English ex-brewer, Samuel Smith, who worked as a gardener by day for Angas, the local landowner, and planted vines for himself at night. By the end of the century, the Barossa was "the vineyard of the Empire," shipping enormous quantities of wine, most of it port-like in style, to England. I have in my notebook a still richly aromatic dark brown splash of Seppelt Vintage Tawny Para Liqueur, made in 1897. Now, just like Shiraz, the area's old-style fortified wines are climbing back into favour.
Considering the quality of the grapes provided by its 4,000 growers, it's perhaps no surprise that the Barossa is also home to some of Australia's biggest producers. Headquartered here, and using a proportion of Barossa grapes in their vast output, are Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Orlando, whose towering white storage tanks for Jacob's Creek entirely dwarf the trickling stream after which their most successful blend was named. These giants are the exception, though. Most of the 50 wineries sprinkled across the tranquil valley are small-to-medium sized - places where you can drop in for a bottle of wine and a friendly chat. With crusty German bread and salami easily found for instant picnics, and almost as many good restaurants as serious bottles, the Barossa is a superb region to visit. Catch the flavour in Ballsbridge on Tuesday week.
Meet the winemakers, sample the key styles in the Herbert Park Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin, on Tuesday May 26th, 68.30 p.m. Tickets, £8, from branches of Molloys; Verlings Clontarf; Redmonds Ranelagh; McCabes Merrion. More information from John McDonnell, Australian Wine Bureau, tel 065-77044, fax 065- 77155.
Barossans to buy now
White
Peter Lehmann The Barossa Semillon 1996 (Superquinn, some SuperValus, Deveneys, Vintry Rathgar, Cooney's Harolds Cross, Village Cellar Swords and many other outlets, usually £7.99).
Leave Chardonnay on the shelf (at least for a while) and try this luscious, full-bodied and distinctively different white. See Bottle of the Week.
Heggies Eden Valley Riesling 1994 (McCabes Merrion, Grogans Ranelagh, Vintry Rathgar, Grapes of Mirth Rathmines, Cheers Shankill, Bird Flanagan Rialto, Bennetts Howth, Verlings Clontarf and other outlets, usually £9.99).
Perhaps the most delicious, polished Riesling seen here so far from the Eden Valley - a zone that falls within the Barossa region just, as the Heggies vineyard comes under the Yalumba umbrella. Try it and beg for others.
Red
Peter Lehmann Vine Vale Shiraz 1996 (Very widely available, usually about £6.49).
Powerfully intense Barossan Shiraz comes at a price (a lot higher than this), but here's an affordable, user-friendly starting point. Ripe berry fruit flavours and vanilla with plenty of punch.
Antipodean, Yalumba, 1996 (Outlets as for Heggies Riesling, plus Redmonds Ranelagh, Cooneys Harold Cross, Pielows Enniskerry, Pettitts and other outlets, usually £9.99). A tasty newcomer, made from Shiraz, Mourvedre and Grenache with a dash of Viognier for softness. Lively and very succulent.
St Hallett Old Block Barossa Valley Shiraz 1994 (Leading branches of Dunnes Stores, £15.99).
Grapes from a dozen good vineyards, all fermented separately and then carefully blended, go into this benchmark old-vine Shiraz. "A cold night, a fire, a piece of and this - what more do you need?" asks winemaker Stuart Blackwell. Try it and deliver your answer at the Dublin tasting. A cracker.
Penfolds Kalimna Bin 28 Shiraz 1994 (McCabes, Redmonds, Verlings, Grapes of Mirth Rathmines, Village Castleknock, Kellys Artane, Lord Mayor's Swords, SuperValus Raheny and Deansgrange, O'Keeffes Kilkenny, Greenacres Wexford, £12.79-£13.99).
Like Penfolds Koonunga Hill, this is named after a Barossan vineyard; unlike it, only Barossan grapes are used. The result: something akin to liquid plum pudding - a beautifully rich, fleshy wine, redolent of sunbaked fruit.
Taste any time you can:
At Grant Burge Meschach - powerful flagship Shiraz of one of the Dublin tasting participants. Rockford Basket Press Shiraz - from traditionalist Robert O'Callaghan; the Arbutus Lodge may soon capture some. Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz - the ultimate treat, made from "the grandfathers" - 60-120-year-old vines. Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz - best from the Baron of the Barossa. E & E Black Pepper Shiraz - a smooth, fleshy and yes, very peppery blockbuster. Yalumba Octavius - old vine Shiraz produced by a family winery with 150-year-old English roots. Charles Melton Nine Popes - a superb Rhone blend from a fan of old Grenache vines - also expected in Dublin.