The Other Side of Champagne

It’s National Champagne Day, and while good cheer is in order, it’s perhaps important to remember that the Champagne region has had a difficult past. Located in northeastern France, Champagne lies directly along the route from Germany to Paris. During both World Wars, the vineyards here were a battlefield furrowed with trenches and gutted with shell holes. Many vines were uprooted, shrouded in poison gas, or killed by disease and neglect. With most men at war, women and children were left to harvest whatever grapes remained and make what wine they could. By the end of World War I alone, 40% of Champagne’s vines had disappeared, and in the main village of Reims, only a handful of Champagne firms remained intact.

Where is the wine region known as the Great Southern?

A. Along the Pacific Ocean coast in Patagonia, Chile

B. Along the coast of the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa

C. Along the Indian Ocean coast in southwestern Australia

D. In southern Argentina, about 1,000 miles from Antarctica

At the southwestern tip of the state of Western Australia, lies the wine region known as the Great Southern. The coastline borders the Indian Ocean. Wine grapes were first planted in this remote part of Australia in 1859. But the region only began to draw world attention (and Australian wine awards) as of the 1970s. Today there are about 70 producers—mostly small, family-owned estates—as well as many young innovative winemakers. The Great Southern (which is south of the better-known Margaret River region in Western Australia) specializes in dry Riesling and cool-climate Shiraz.

“I began with the desire to create a “First Growth of California.” The plan needed to be clear enough for direction but sufficiently flexible to evolve as we learned. We needed first to identify, capture, and cultivate great land; to assemble a team with a shared vision; to foster a strong culture; and to build a winegrowing domain that could last for centuries.”

—Bill Harlan, proprietor of Harlan Estate, Napa Valley

The Other Side of Champagne

Get WineSpeed