Wine: 'Australia's First Families of Wine are so frustrated by efforts to tar all of Oz with the same "industrialised wine" brush'Premium Article !

With wine, as in life, tough times often draw us back to families. Just as Miguel Torres helped create a pan-European association of family producers in 1993, there is now Australia's First Families of Wine.

Although other producers are less reticent, the organisation's inaugural chairman, Alister Purbrick of Tahbilk, is careful not to blame it all on the conglomerates and simply says: "Australian wine finds itself with a major image problem at the top ADVERTISEMENTend of the international market."

Despite 20 years of solid success, even the basic market is now difficult.

This has triggered a chain reaction with significant implications for the premium wines in which First Families excel.

These businesses, however, are not just wine producers; they are part of the historical bedrock of the industry.

Take, for example, the Henschke operation in South Australia's Eden Valley.

The quest for religious freedom motivated Johann Christian Henschke to leave his native Silesia in 1841 for a new life in Australia.

Despite disease claiming his wife and two of his children on the journey, he went on to become a successful wine producer.

That operation is into its fifth generation and produces fantastic wines like the iconic Hill of Grace Shiraz, made from 150-year-old vines.

This is second only to Penfold Grange in the Australian Shiraz Hall of Fame, and costs around £300 a bottle.

For a more accessible (but still quirky) shiraz, take a look at the intense, aromatic, plum and bramble-based 2007 D'Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz (£35, Oddbins).

This is produced by the Osborn family (now in their fourth generation) in McLaren Vale and takes its name from a disease that kills half of a vine (one "arm") resulting in a low yield of intensely flavoured fruit from the surviving part.

Cabernet sauvignon has similar heroes such as Bill Taylor - once a Sydney wine merchant with a love of claret - who set out to replicate the style in Australia.

His chosen site in the cooler climate and terra rossa soil of South Australia's Wakefield River produced prize-winning wine from its inaugural vintage.

By 2010, the superb smooth bramble and cherry flavours of Wakefield St Andrews Cabernet Sauvignon (£28, Raeburn Fine Wines) was winning international gold medals for his grandchildren.

White wines also have their share of history.

Edward Tyrrell was a teenager in 1854 when he left Britain to take up dairy farming in New South Wales. However, he quickly saw the potential for wine rather than milk in his new Hunter Valley homeland.

It was his grandson, the ebullient Murray Tyrrell, however, who realised that switching from semillon and shiraz to a Burgundian style of chardonnay would start a highly lucrative trend. Indeed, Tyrrell's Winemaker's Selection Vat 47 Chardonnay (£26, Raeburn Fine Wines) is still polished, fresh, elegant stuff with restrained oak and real depth.

For rather less money, you can test out the style with another Tyrrell family offering, M&S Hunter Valley Chardonnay.

First Families of Wine also includes the Brown Brothers with their diverse grape varieties such as tarrango, cienna and dry musADVERTISEMENTcat.

Other members are the descendants of the pioneering Jim Barry with his Clare Valley wines such as the excellent 2008 Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon (£9.99, Morrisons), inspired by the nearby disused cricket ground (as is the white "Silly Mid On"). Look, too, at the vibrant lime-charged riesling from Howard Park.

This shows why Australia's First Families of Wine are so frustrated by efforts to tar all of Oz with the same "industrialised wine" brush. There are some fabulous wines and fabulous stories and they are anxious for the world to know about them both.

2010 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand, 13.5 per cent
Terrific wine with a crisp, lime opening that develops into kiwi fruit roundness and a lingering finish. £6.99 (down from £8.99 until 1 March), Sainsbury's

2008 Waitrose Reserve Shiraz Barossa Valley, Australia, 14.5 per cent

Touches of cinnamon and chocolate to underpin the rich blackcurrant fruit. £7.49 (down from £9.99 until 8 March, Waitrose

2009 Bodegas Pascual Rueda Northern Spain, 12 per cent

Classy white with soft mango and pineapple fruit and an attractive peppery finish. £9.99, Raeburn Fine Wines

This article was first published in Scotland On Sunday, 20 February, 2011