It's dangerous to make generalisations about wine from a particular region, let alone a country. There are multitudes of exceptions to the rules in the wonderfully diverse world of wine, but we think we've drunk enough Aussie and Italian wine to make a few observations that you might find useful. Given most of our Italian range is red wine, we'll focus on the differences there. The quick takeaway? In Australia, we tend to make red wine like the French.
Ripeness of the grapes
Primary fruit flavours in red wine tend to follow a predictable spectrum based on ripeness at picking, starting with a freshly picked crunchy red fruits like red cherry and ending in cooked and jammy fruits like stewed black plums). Australia is warm to hot (ok we're mostly thinking of SA here), and most wine regions are not very high in altitude. That tends to mean that Aussie reds are toward the riper end of the spectrum and are higher in alcohol, especially in the hot summer regions like the Barossa. That's quite similar to the French reds you'll find in parts of Bordeaux or the Southern Rhone (increasingly so with climate change upon us). The Italian reds in the Vino Cammino range are all either above 500m in altitude or from the snow and fog prone hills next to the Alps, so are more often centred around the fresher red fruit flavours.
Oak
There has been a real shift in thinking around the use of oak in Australia over the past decade but on average you will still find heavier use of oak in Aussie reds than in Italian reds. Using smaller, newer barrels for ageing wine is much more common here compared with larger, older format barrels in traditional Italian red wines. That will mean bigger body, and more prominent vanilla/ coconut/ coffee flavours. When smaller new barrels are used in Italy it is so controversial that it can become a fault line within a community, an example of which is the traditionalist (large older oak) and modernist (small newer oak) winemakers in Barolo. Guess who else uses lots of smaller, newer, oak barrels. Les Français!
Varietals
Of course, the grape varieties make a huge difference in what you find in your glass. The bulk of Australian red production is Shiraz, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and the other contributors to the famous GSM blend, Merlot and Grenache. Guess where the home of those grapes is? Yep, it's Bordeaux and the Rhone again. In our Italian range, it's predominantly Sangiovese and Nebbiolo grapes, which you can increasingly find in Australian vineyards, but still in much lower quantities than the French varietals.
So what's an Aussie red lover to do?
If you love your Aussie reds, but are curious about exploring Italian styles, here are a few suggestions, based on a mix of body and flavour characteristics. They're not the same, that's not the point, but we think you're likely to get some joy out of them.
Big Barossa Shiraz: Try a full bodied Sangiovese. The Chianti Classico Riserva from Tregole is the closest thing we've got to this big Aussie red. Expand to the wines of Montalcino and Etna from there.
Medium bodied Mclaren Grenache: We think the florals and spice of a great Grenache mean you'll love a good Nebbiolo. The body will be bigger in a Neb, but the colour and flavours are a great comparison. Start with something accessible like a Langhe Nebbiolo and build up to the Barolos and Barbarescos from there.
Juicy Victorian Pinot Noir: If this is your thing, our most affordable red, the 2023 Dolcetto from Cagliero is worth a try. Very drinkable, juicy fruit flavours and lower levels of alcohol.