Australian wine, once seen merely as a good quaff for about $10 a bottle or less, is flexing its muscles and offering U.S. wine lovers some vintages that sell for $30, $50 and more.

While the vast majority of Australian wines are still value priced, a lot more of them are being produced by small, high-quality vintners who can charge a bit more for their limited-release gems.

Newcomers to wine might not have heard of names like Brokenwood, Yalumba, Giaconda, or Leeuwin. Therefore, they might know nothing about the 60-plus wine-growing regions in Australia. But the wines are selling.

In particular, Aussie aficionado Chuck Hayward of the Jug Shop in San Francisco stocks literally dozens of obscure but sensational wines from down under. His eager clientele knows to ask for his best Australians because they are usually stocked in the back of the shop.

I suspect Chuck only wants Aussie wine lovers to get these gems, and that putting them out front could mean they might be purchased by people who would fail to understand them!

Recently, I chatted with Rob and Kat McDonald about their newly released 2006 Lilith, a monumental shiraz that sells for $40. The superb wine is from cool-climate Heathcote, and as such isnt for everyone.

Their property produces scant amounts of fruit. And this wine, as distinctive as it is, will be most appealing to fans of deep, dark, age-worthy red wines. But there is only a small amount of it, which accounts for the price.

Most have heard of the largest-selling brand of Australian wine, Yellow Tail. Yellow Tail wines have been tailored to appeal to those who like Australian-style wine: juicy and soft.

But another Aussie brand is starting to make noise in the U.S. market and it has a different image. Once called Angoves, the brand has dropped the apostrophe and S on its new label design. It is from a large producer who focuses not on the vast Southeastern Australia region, but instead uses grapes grown in more prestigious vineyards it owns in various locales. Continued...