Ascend into the small towns huddled around the towering Mount Macedon such as Woodend or Kyneton, which are located an hour North-West of Melbourne, and you can’t fail to miss the faintly Northern European feel of the place. Perhaps it is the crisp bite of a cool Spring day, the historical streetscapes or even the patches of greenery from recent Winter rains but this is a very unique and beautiful landscape; not just in geography but also the climate that envelops it.

Unsurprisingly within this cool environment, which encompasses a multitude of hills and valleys, are pockets of vineyards that are creating exquisite, modern styles of Australian wine. Yet, despite the obvious potential and some brilliant wines, for many the Macedon, surprisingly, remains an unknown.

There is a lack of any one strong brand driving the region’s fortunes. No big company would even consider large-scale plantings here – the challenges are just too large and the yields too low. But for those vignerons that identify the right site and then put their all into grafting a quality product, there are tremendous rewards to reap. To date, the best known wines of the Macedon have been the local pinot noirs and chardonnays from the likes of Curly Flat and Bindi, with others such as Lanes End and Paramoor also showing promise. And there is still an Aladdin’s cave of potential sites yet to be explored; it seems more than likely that the quality of product in the Macedon is destined to go from strength to strength over the next decade or two.

Recently at the Macedon Show I was again reminded that, while pinot noir and chardonnay have driven the region’s fortunes to date, the region also has a knack of consistently turning out some of Australia’s greatest Sparkling wines. back in the old days that may not have meant so much but from cool mainland regions, today lead by the Macedon, as well as Tasmania, more and more locally produced wines are really challenging the quality of fine French Champagne. The Macedon instils in its best wines a delicacy and purity of acidity that is remarkably reminiscent of fine French bubbly. This is not completely surprising in that vineyards in both the Macedon and Champagne are some of the coolest for these varieties globally which gives the resulting wines their much-praised elegance while keeping intact a rigid core of acidity.

At the 2009 Macedon show, two sparkling wines, in particular, really impressed, and both from the same producer. The first was the Mount William Blanc de Blanc from 2001, a sparkling chardonnay that is still remarkably fresh and alive. And the second is the Mount William ‘Jorja Alexis’ Pinot Noir Rosé from 2003, a very pretty and subtle wine with multiple layers of red berry fruit with subtle earthy nuances in a supremely balanced and silky package.

Different occasions call for different types of wine, although discount wine tastes best of all.

Most wines are quaffers; just made to sip and enjoy without too much thought. But then there are others that are there to impress, with their style and finesse, on special occasions. Sitting at the beach, a cheap yet enjoyably drinkable quaffer will do very nicely. But then as a gift for someone who likes a good drop of red wine, a bit more care is needed. So how do you find a good bottle of wine from the countless number to choose from?

One important factor that is a guide to a wine’s quality is where the grapes have been grown. Like any plant, grape vines grow poorly in some environments or areas and prosper in others. Can you imagine eating pineapples or mangoes grown in Tassie? Probably not which is because the climate is not right for tropical fruits.

Vines are no different as a number of factors can result in some grape varieties producing great wines in some regions and yet producing bland wines in other regions. It all has to do with climate and soils but the important thing to remember is the classic grape/wine region combinations, for discount wines or dare I say, cheap wines.

Here is a guide to some combinations worth looking out for.

Chardonnay
Regions: Beechworth, Margaret River, Adelaide Hills, Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Hunter Valley, Orange, Tasmania

Riesling
Regions: Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Frankland River, Canberra, Tasmania

Semillon
Regions: Hunter Valley, Margaret River, Barossa Valley

Sauvignon Blanc
Regions: Adelaide Hills, Margaret River

Shiraz
Regions: Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Heathcote, Grampians, Pyrenees, Beechworth, Yarra Valley, Hunter Valley, Canberra

Cabernet Sauvignon
Regions: Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Margaret River, Yarra Valley

Pinot Noir
Regions: Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Gippsland, Macedon Ranges, Beechworth, Adelaide Hills, Tasmania.