Postmodern Australia

Australian wine has entered its third era. First came the Fortified Age, from the mid 19th century to the mid 20th. This was the bedrock of the Australian wine industry, establishing the infrastructure and many of the companies (Yalumba, Orlando, Penfolds et al.) that remain dominant today. Fortunes depended on fortified styles in these early years. They imitated port and sherry in both method and name, and successfully exported for several decades.

Times inevitably change, though, and before long fortifieds were to become fossilised. This happened during the Modern Age: through the 1950s and 1960s production shifted towards table...