It might surprise some people that a huge volume of good quality wine comes out of Australia. Most people think of a dusty red continent, and while this does accurately describe the desert interior, it is certainly not true of the coastlines and the South in particular. The West Coast of Australia, in the vicinity of Perth, is prime farmland for grapes. It produces some of the best Australian White Wine.

A white wine, of course, is any wine that is fermented without leaving skins in the vat. Since most of the color of grapes is in the skin, with the flesh being quite clear, the resulting juice is clear as well. Reasons for removing the skin might include a thick skin, a skin with a less appealing taste, and a nonstandard color. In the case of Australia, the local grapes are quite hardy but make for good white and red wine.

Australian white wine is a treat both because of the local soil and because of the skill of both the farmer and the fermenter. Australia is known to have old and rather poor soil, but this is not universally the case. Some areas have good soil, and even marginal soil can be greatly improved by people who love their compost because they love their grapes.

Good wine always starts with a healthy vine. That means taking care of the soil, of course, but the location also provides many benefits. The dry summers and relative remoteness of Australia do help to keep common grape blight away, and the weather does impart a special flavor to the final product that skilled samplers are often keen to point out. Grape plants love drier air, and the quality of the grapes reflect the fact.

Australian vintners are a modern lot. They use industrial equipment to sift the grape juice and keep it pure, and they let the fermented batch mellow in climate-controlled warehouses. It is not as authentic as a centuries-old cellar in Italy, but the knowledge and the temperature are the same. These winemakers have a lot of experience of their own, and you can taste the difference.

Australian White Wine might not be the most identifiable in the world, but it has brands that are gaining recognition. For a $20 bottle of wine, it possibly compares to the wine of Europe. Good wine for a reasonable price is itself a quality that has a great taste.