An American Expat Wino Living in Australia

I’ll make this short and sweet—I have moved to Brisbane, Australia to live with my boyfriend, during the middle of a global pandemic. Before you ask how this was all possible, I’ll save you the maddening story of multiple Australian migration agents, 40 pages of relationship evidence, about 10 months of disappointment and government rejection, and 1 final approval notice that had me jumping on a plan to Australia within 48 hours of finding out.

Ok so maybe there are a lot of details left out in the above story, and maybe one day I’ll write them all down, including a run down on what it takes to survive through 14 days of hotel quarantine. But what is important is that I’m not going to stop writing about budget friendly wine! It might not all be Washington state wine (although I will be on the hunt to find some Washington, Oregon, and California representation here), but I am hopefully going to shed some light on all that Australia and New Zealand have to offer the wine world.

Australia has 6 major wine regions and is best known for their Shiraz—which is the Australian word for Syrah. These regions also offer many other grape varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir and Bordeaux Blends. While many of Australias wines do not make it into mainstream United States stores, I’ll be on the hunt for some wines you may be able to easily order from some of the larger importers.

I also want to take you along on my journey to understanding like in Australia, and how that differs from the United States. I know I’m not the first or the last expat to relocate, but given the current state of the world I may have a unique perspective on just how different or similar we all are.

I hope you stick with me on this new journey. I may even have a few wino friends at home that will be popping in with some new favorites for all my stateside drinkers. I am still emotionally connected and invested in expanding the knowledge of amazing Washington state wines. It's where I started my wine journey and will still be recommending wines wherever possible.

Cheers to new adventures and new wines!

Chelsey aka the Wino on a Budget