![Australian Wine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Australian_Wine.jpg)
The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets.
The wine industry is a significant contributor to the
Australian economy
Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed-market economy. As of 2022, Australia was the 14th-largest national economy by nominal GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the 20th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 22nd-largest goods ...
through production, employment, export, and tourism.
There is a $3.5 billion domestic market for Australian wines, with Australians consuming approximately 500 million litres annually.
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
ers are the second biggest per capita wine consumers in the world with 54 litres. Only 16.6% of wine sold domestically is imported.
Wine is produced in every state, with more than 60 designated wine regions totalling approximately 160,000 hectares; however Australia's wine regions are mainly in the southern, cooler parts of the country, with vineyards located in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
. The wine regions in each of these states produce different wine varieties and styles that take advantage of the particular
Terroir
(, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these conte ...
such as:
climatic
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
differences,
topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
and
soil type
A soil type is a taxonomic unit in soil science. All soils that share a certain set of well-defined properties form a distinctive soil type. Soil type is a technical term of soil classification, the science that deals with the systematic categoriz ...
s. The major varieties are predominantly
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
,
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...
,
Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
,
Merlot
Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
,
Semillon,
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
,
Riesling
Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...
, and
Sauvignon blanc
is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...
. Wines are often labelled with the name of their grape variety, which must constitute at least 85 percent of the wine.
History
Vine cuttings
The propagation of grapevines is an important consideration in commercial viticulture and winemaking. Grapevines, most of which belong to the ''Vitis vinifera'' family, produce one crop of fruit each growing season with a limited life span for indi ...
from the
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
were brought to the
penal colony
A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...
of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
by
Governor Phillip on the
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
(1788).
An attempt at wine making from these first vines failed, but with perseverance, other settlers managed to successfully cultivate vines for
winemaking
Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...
, and Australian made wine was available for sale domestically by the 1820s. In 1822
Gregory Blaxland
Gregory Blaxland (17 June 1778 – 1 January 1853) was an English pioneer farmer and explorer in Australia, noted especially for initiating and co-leading the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains by European settlers.
Early life ...
became the first person to export Australian wine, and was the first winemaker to win an overseas award. In 1830 vineyards were established in the Hunter Valley.
In 1833
James Busby
James Busby (7 February 1802 – 15 July 1871) was the British Resident in New Zealand from 1833 to 1840. He was involved in drafting the 1835 Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand and the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. As British Resident, ...
returned from France and Spain with a serious selection of grape varieties including most classic French grapes and a good selection of grapes for fortified wine production.
Wine from the
Adelaide Hills was sent to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
in 1844, but there is no evidence that she placed an order as a result. The production and quality of Australian wine was much improved by the arrival of free settlers from various parts of Europe, who used their skills and knowledge to establish some of Australia's premier wine regions. For example, emigrants from
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
in the mid-1850s were important in establishing
South Australia's Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley ( Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destinati ...
as a winemaking region. In smaller scale, winemakers from
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
also helped in establishing Geelong wine region in Victoria in 1842.
Early Australian winemakers faced many difficulties, particularly due to the unfamiliar Australian climate. But because it is also warm, dry, and Mediterranean overall, making Australia ideal for wine production, they eventually achieved considerable success. "At the 1873 Vienna Exhibition the French judges, tasting blind, praised some wines from Victoria, but withdrew in protest when the
provenance
Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
of the wine was revealed, on the grounds that wines of that quality must clearly be French."
Australian wines continued to win high honours in French competitions. A Victorian
Syrah
Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...
(also called Shiraz) competing in the 1878 Paris Exhibition was likened to
Château Margaux
Château Margaux (), archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is a wine estate of Bordeaux wine, and was one of four wines to achieve ''Premier cru'' (first growth) status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. The estate's best wines are very expens ...
and "its taste completed its trinity of perfection."
One Australian wine won a gold medal "first class" at the 1882 Bordeaux International Exhibition and another won a gold medal "against the world" at the 1889 Paris International Exhibition.
That was all before the destructive effects on the industry of the
phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
epidemic.
Australia has rapidly become a world leader in both the quantity and quality of wines it produces. For example, Australian wine exports to the US rose from 578,000 cases in 1990 to 20,000,000 cases in 2004 and in 2000 it exported more wine than France to the UK for the first time in history.
The industry has at times suffered from its own productivity. In the late 1980s, governments sponsored growers to pull out their vines to overcome a glut of winegrapes. Low grape prices in 2005 and 2006 have led to calls for another sponsored vine pull.
Cleanskin wines were introduced into Australia during the 1960s as a means to combat oversupply and poor sales.
During the
Black Summer bushfires
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of visible spectrum, visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or fi ...
of 2019 to 2020, winemaking was adversely affected in production areas struck by fire or smoke, which affects flavour through
smoke taint Smoke taint is a broad term for a set of smoke imparted compounds found in affected wines, constituting a wine fault. Increasing incidences of smoke tainted wines are an important issue, given the recent occurrences of wildfires or bushfires in wine ...
. The
Adelaide Hills wine region
Adelaide Hills is an Australian geographical indication for wine made from grapes grown in a specific area of the Adelaide Hills east of Adelaide in South Australia.
Extent and appellation
The Adelaide Hills wine region covers an area extendi ...
was particularly badly hit, losing up to 30% of is vineyards.
Some winemakers found innovative ways to get around the problem of tainted grapes.
Grape varieties
![42 Degrees Winery 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/42_Degrees_Winery_1.jpg)
Major
grape varieties
This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...
are
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
,
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
,
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...
,
Merlot
Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
,
Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
,
[ ]Sauvignon blanc
is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...
, Sémillon
Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC.
History
The Sémill ...
, and Riesling
Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...
. The country has no native grapes, and ''Vitis vinifera
''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...
'' varieties were introduced from Europe and South Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Some varieties have been bred by Australian viticulturists, for example Cienna and Tarrango.
The most widely cultivated grape variety in Australia is Shiraz. There are different ideas about the origin of Shiraz. One says that it originated from the Persian city of Syrah/Shiraz. Another one says that a dark-skinned grape variety came from the Rhône wine region in France where it is better known as Syrah. Despite the different ideas about the origin of Shiraz, it received a tremendous success not only in Australia but worldwide.
About 130 different grape varieties are used by commercial winemakers in Australia. Over recent years many winemakers have been rediscovering so-called "alternative varieties" other than those listed above. Many varieties from France, Italy and Spain, for example Petit Verdot
Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, c ...
, Pinot grigio
Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the grap ...
, Sangiovese
Sangiovese (, also , , ) is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin ''sanguis Jovis'', "the blood of Jupiter". Though it is the grape of most of central Italy from Romagna down to Lazio (the most widespread grape i ...
, Tempranillo
Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais in Spain, Aragonez or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, and several other synonyms elsewhere) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its ...
, Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo (, ; pms, nebieul ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero, G ...
, Malbec
Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...
, Barbera
Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high levels ...
, Arneis
Arneis is a white Italian wine grape variety originating from Piedmont, Italy. It is most commonly found in the hills of the Roero, northwest of Alba, where it is part of the white ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) win ...
, Fiano (grape)
Fiano is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Campania region of southern Italy and on the island of Sicily. In Campania, this fairly strong flavored white wine grape is particularly noted around Avellino where the ...
and Viognier
Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 754 Oxford University Press 2006 Outside of the Rhôn ...
are becoming more common. Wines from many other varieties are being produced.
Australian winemaking results have been impressive and it has established benchmarks for a number of varietals, such as Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Shiraz. Moreover, Australians have innovated in canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
management and other viticultural and in wine-making techniques, and they have a general attitude toward their work that sets them apart from producers in Europe. Australian wine-makers travel the wine world as highly skilled seasonal workers, relocating to the northern hemisphere during the off-season at home. They are an important resource in the globalisation of wine and wine critic Matt Kramer notes that "the most powerful influence in wine today" comes from Australia.
(See
List of Australian wine grape varieties
Australia has over 160 grape varieties distributed on 146,244 hectares (ha) across all six states, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland (see Australian wine). These activities are concentrated lar ...
)
GSM blends
''GSM'' is a name commonly used for a red wine consisting of a blend
A blend is a mixture of two or more different things or substances; e.g., a product of a mixer or blender.
Blend
Blend may also refer to:
* Blend word, a word formed from parts of other words
* ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans
* Bl ...
of Grenache
Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...
, Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
(Syrah), and Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre (also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world including the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla and Yecla ''denominaciones de origen'' (DOs) of Sp ...
.[J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pp. 297–298, 333–334 Oxford University Press 2006 ] Blends where Shiraz is the main component are sometimes referred to instead as SGM.
This blend originated from those used in some Southern Rhône wines, including Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Châteauneuf-du-Pape (; Provençal: Castèu-Nòu-De-Papo) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. The village lies about to the east of the Rhône and north of the town of Avign ...
, though it is also found in South Australia, California (particularly Paso Robles, originating with Tablas Creek Vineyard
Tablas Creek Vineyard is a California wine estate producing various Rhône-style blends and varietal wine. The winery is located in the Adelaida district west of Paso Robles in the Santa Lucia Mountains, within the Paso Robles AVA. It is an exemp ...
), and Washington (Columbia Valley); smaller production exists in Argentina and South Africa. A very similar blend is traditional to Priorat
Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. The central part of the comarca, "Priorat històric," produces the highly regarded wines that are certified under the DOQ Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are certified as DO M ...
(in Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, Spain), still based on Garnacha (Grenache), but adding Mazuelo (Carignan), Syrah, and Merlot (same GS, different M's).
Grenache is the lightest of the three grapes, producing a pale red juice with soft berry scents and a bit of spiciness. As a blending component, it contributes alcohol, warmth and fruitiness without added tannin
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...
s. Shiraz can contribute full-bodied, fleshy flavours of black fruits and pepper. It adds color, backbone and tannins and provides the sense of balance such blends require. Mourvèdre contributes elegance, structure and acidity to the blend, producing flavours of sweet plums, roasted game and hints of tobacco.[Robinson, Jancis ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' Mitchell Beazley 1986 ]
Production
Australia's most famous wine is Penfolds Grange
Penfolds Grange (until the 1989 vintage labelled Penfolds Grange Hermitage) is an Australian wine, made predominantly from the Shiraz (Syrah) grape and usually a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is widely considered one of Australia's ...
. The great 1955 vintage was submitted to competitions beginning in 1962 and over the years has won more than 50 gold medals. The vintage of 1971 won first prize in Syrah/Shiraz at the Wine Olympics
A Wine Olympics was organized by the French food and wine magazine ''Gault-Millau'' in 1979. A total of 330 wines from 33 countries were evaluated by 62 experts from ten nationalities. The 1976 contestant Trefethen Vineyards Chardonnay from Nap ...
in Paris. The 1990 vintage was named 'Red Wine of the Year' by the ''Wine Spectator
''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...
'' magazine in 1995, which later rated the 1998 vintage 99 points out of a possible 100. Wine critic Hugh Johnson has called Grange the only First Growth
First Growth (french: Premier Cru) status is a classification of wines primarily from the Bordeaux region of France.
The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only five wines, Château Lafite Rothschild, Châtea ...
of the Southern Hemisphere. The influential wine critic Robert Parker, who is well known for his love of Bordeaux wines, has written that Grange "has replaced Bordeaux's Pétrus as the world's most exotic and concentrated wine".
Other red wines to garner international attention include Henschke
Henschke is a family-owned, -year-old Australian winery, located in Keyneton, South Australia in the Eden Valley wine region. It produces the 'Hill of Grace', one of Australia's "cult wines", and was considered Australia's second best wine by ...
Hill of Grace, Clarendon Hills
Clarendon Hills is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,427 at the 2010 census. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago.
History
In 1961, TWA Flight 529 crashed in Clarendon Hills, killing all 73 passengers o ...
Astralis, D'Arenberg
d'Arenberg is an Australian wine company founded in 1912. All of its vineyards are located in South Australia's McLaren Vale wine region, although some of the wines they make are produced from grapes sourced from the Adelaide Hills wine regi ...
Dead Arm, Torbreck
Torbreck is an Australian winery in the Barossa Valley, founded by David Powell in 1994. The winery was named one of the World's Top 100 Wine Estates by Robert Parker. The winery is named after a forest in Scotland where Powell worked as ...
Run Rig and other high-end Penfolds wines such as St Henri shiraz.
Australia has almost 2000 wine producers, most of whom are small winery operations. The market is dominated by a small number of major wine companies. The largest wineries are the Casella winery in Yenda, NSW (YellowTail wines) and the Berri Estates winery in Glossop, SA. The ownership of wineries varies but their location has largely been the same since the introduction of stainless steel tanks in the 1990s, there was a major change in the wine industry in the 1980s when local winegrower cooperatives ceased operations or were privatised.
The majority of grapes are grown in warm climate regions, including the Riverina, Murray Valley and Riverland wine regions, located in southern NSW, north western Victoria and South Australia. A 2019 report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission examined grape production in these areas and the myriad competition and consumer issues facing growers.
Major wine regions
The information included on wine labels is strictly regulated. One aspect of this is that the label must not make any false or misleading statements about the source of the grapes. Many names (called ''geographic indications'') are protected. These are divided into "South Eastern Australia", the state names, zones (shown in the map), regions, and subregions. The largest volume of wine is produced from grapes grown in the warm climate Murray-Darling Basin zones of Lower Murray
The Lower Murray languages form a branch of the Pama–Nyungan languages, Pama–Nyungan family. They are:Bowern, Claire. 2011.How Many Languages Were Spoken in Australia?, ''Anggarrgoon: Australian languages on the web'', December 23, 2011corre ...
, North Western Victoria and Big Rivers. In general, the higher-value premium wines are made from smaller and cooler-climate regions.
The South Australian wine
The South Australian wine industry is responsible for more than half the production of all Australian wine. South Australia has a vast diversity in geography and climate which allows the state to be able to produce a range of grape varieties&ndas ...
industry is responsible for most of the production of wine in Australia. In recent years, the Tasmanian wine
Tasmanian wine is wine produced in the Australian state of Tasmania. Located at a more southerly latitude than the rest of Australia's wine regions, Tasmania has a cooler climate and the potential to make distinctly different wines than in ...
industry has emerged as a producer of high quality wines. In particular, the Tamar Valley has developed a reputation for its Chardonnay and Pinot noir, which are well suited to the cooler Tasmanian climate. Queensland is also developing a wine industry with over 100 vineyards registered in the state. Some notable wines are produced in the high-altitude Granite Belt
The Granite Belt is an area of the Great Dividing Range in the Darling Downs region of Queensland and the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The Granite Belt is centred on the town of Stanthorpe. The cool, high country of the gra ...
region in the state's extreme south, production is centred on the towns of Stanthorpe
Stanthorpe is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Stanthorpe had a population of 5,406 people.
The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt.
Geography
Stanthorpe lies on the New ...
and Ballandean
Ballandean is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Ballandean had a population of 338 people.
Ballandean is in the Granite Belt Region of the Southern Downs. It is on the Queen ...
.
Some well-known wine-producing regions include:
; South Australia wine regions
* Adelaide Hills
* Barossa Valley
The Barossa Valley ( Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destinati ...
* Clare Valley
The Clare Valley is a valley located in South Australia about north of Adelaide in the Clare and Gilbert Valleys council area. It is the river valley formed by the Hutt River but is also strongly associated with the roughly parallel Hill Riv ...
* Coonawarra
* Eden Valley
* Langhorne Creek
* McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale is a wine region in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Adelaide metropolitan area and centred on the town of McLaren Vale about south of the Adelaide city centre. It is internationally renowned for the wine ...
* Padthaway
* Riverland
The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the Murray River, River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria downstream to Blanchetown, South Australia ...
* Southern Fleurieu
* Wrattonbully
Wrattonbully is a wine region in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia's South East, between the Padthaway and Coonawarra regions, between the Riddoch Highway and the Victorian border.Longbottom et al., 2011, page 20
The Wrattonbul ...
* Southern Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas
* Currency Creek
* Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...
; Victoria wine regions
* Alpine Valleys
The Alpine Valleys is an Australian wine region on the western slopes of the Victorian Alps in northeast Victoria. It was registered as an Australian Geographical Indication on It is bounded to the west by the King Valley and to the north by th ...
* Beechworth
Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859.
Beechworth's many histor ...
* Goulburn Valley
The Goulburn Valley is a sub-region, part of the Hume region of the Australian state of Victoria. The sub-region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. ...
* Grampians
The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. T ...
* Heathcote wine region
The Heathcote Wine Region of Victoria, Australia, is nestled between the Goulburn Valley and Bendigo regions. The region is famous for its Shiraz production.
Geography
North of the Great Dividing Range the region is at elevations between . The ...
* Henty Henty may refer to:
Australian geography
*Henty, New South Wales
*Henty, Victoria
*Henty (wine) an Australian geographical indicator and wine region in southwestern Victoria
*Division of Henty, a former federal electorate in Victoria
*Henty Highway ...
* Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogra ...
* Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
* Rutherglen
Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...
* Strathbogie Wine Region
* Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley is the region surrounding the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. The river originates approximately east of the Melbourne central business district and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Valley ...
* King Valley
The King Valley, or King River Valley is a wine-producing and agricultural region centred on the King River between Wangaratta and the Alpine National Park in the North East Victoria zone of the Australian state of Victoria. There are a number ...
* Bendigo
Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...
* Glenrowan wine region
The Glenrowan wine region is a wine growing region in the Australian state of Victoria, including the town of Glenrowan.
"Glenrowan" was entered in the Register of Protected Names on 14 October 2003 as the name of a region.
The region surroun ...
; New South Wales wine regions
* Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...
* Mudgee
Mudgee is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gover ...
* Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
* Riverina
The Riverina
is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...
* New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
* Southern Highlands
* Shoalhaven Coast
; Western Australia wine regions
Greater Perth:
* Perth Hills
Perth Hills is a term used primarily for marketing purposes to identify the part of the Darling Scarp and hinterland east of the scarp that lies within the Shire of Mundaring, City of Swan, and the City of Kalamunda and as part of the constitue ...
* Peel
* Swan Valley
South Western Australia:
* Blackwood Valley
Blackwood Valley is a wine region in the south-west of Western Australia, approximately 260 km (160 mi) south-south-east of Perth.Blackwood Valley, ''Wine Lover's Companion'' (2003).
The region was named after the Blackwood River, the longest ...
* Geographe
Geographe is a suburb of the Western Australian city of Busselton. At the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 3,622.
''Sandylands'', one of the first houses built in Busselton, was constructed in the area beginning in ...
* Manjimup
* Margaret River
The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River.
The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range.
The ...
* Pemberton
* Great Southern:
:* Albany
* Denmark
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...
* Frankland River
* Mount Barker
* Porongurup
; Tasmania wine regions
* Tamar Valley
* Derwent Valley
* Huon Valley
The Huon Valley, or simply the Huon, is a valley and geographic area located in southern Tasmania, Australia. The largest town is Huonville, with other smaller towns spread across the area. It includes Australia's most southern permanent settle ...
/ Channel
* Coal River Valley
The Coal River Valley is located in the City of Clarence, Tasmania, and is a primarily agrarian area to the east of the city, located between the townships of Cambridge and Colebrook. With the historic town of Richmond at its heart, it is nestled ...
* Pipers River
The Pipers River is a perennial river located in northern region of Tasmania, Australia. It was named for Captain Hugh Piper. The Aboriginal name for the river is ''Wattra karoola''.
Course and features
The river rises below Mount Arthur ne ...
* East Coast
* North West
; Queensland wine
* Granite Belt
The Granite Belt is an area of the Great Dividing Range in the Darling Downs region of Queensland and the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The Granite Belt is centred on the town of Stanthorpe. The cool, high country of the gra ...
Export markets
The Australian Wine export market was worth 2.8 billion Australian dollars (A$) a year in June 2007, having grown at 9%pa. Of this about A$2 billion is accounted for by North America and the UK. 2007 statistics for the North American market show that Australian wine accounted for a 17% share of the total value of US imported wine, behind France with 31% and Italy with 28%.
New marketing strategies developed for the key UK market encouraged customers to explore premium Australian brands while maintaining sales of the lower-margin high-volume brands, following research that indicated a celebratory dinner was more likely to be accompanied by an inferior French wine than a premium Australian wine. This is partly due to exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of ...
fluctuations, making Australian wines appear much cheaper than French wines in the UK and hence perceived as being of poorer quality. While this situation may be somewhat mitigated by the continued rise in the Australian dollar during 2010, the stronger currency threatens to weaken Australian exports to the crucial US market.
Australian wine accounts for a very large imported wine market share in South Asian countries and is the second largest imported wine in India with a market share of 16%. Australia is China's largest supplier of imported wine, a standing achieved in part by free-trade agreements established between the two countries.
Canada is the fourth-largest export market for Australian wines with the major exporting provinces being British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. With the restrictions on the sale of Australian wine being removed in British Columbia, Australian wine will be on more shelves in the province with lower tariffs.
Government spending
Australian wine research and production is supported by the government through partnerships with the publicly funded CSIRO
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...
and Wine Australia
Wine Australia is an Australian Government statutory corporation that promotes and regulates the Australian wine industry. It was created as the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) in 1981 to replace the Australian Wine Board by the ...
worth $18 million. In an average year, alcohol production in Australia is estimated to produce between $3.3 and $5.5 billion in taxable income.
See also
*Agriculture in Australia
Although Australia is mostly arid, the nation is a major agricultural producer and exporter, with over 325,300 employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing as of February 2015. Agriculture and its closely related sectors earn $155 billion-a-y ...
*''Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal
''The Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal'' published a wide range of articles from technical and scientific papers to practical advice and the latest news on research and development. The journal was issued six times a year and fea ...
''
*Australian Wine Research Institute
The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) is a research institute with a focus on Australian wine, based in Adelaide, South Australia.
Location
It is based at the Wine Innovation Cluster, situated in the Waite Research Precinct, in the Adela ...
*Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology
Based in Glen Osmond, South Australia, the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) is a non-political organization that was founded in 1980 to serve the interests of practicing winemakers and viticulturists by encouraging the exchang ...
*Australia's First Families of Wine
Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW) is an Australian wine initiative to raise the profile of Australian wine to the world, showcasing a representative of its landmark wines and to highlight the quality and diversity of Australian wine. Est ...
*Good Food & Wine Show
The Good Food & Wine Show is Australia's largest consumer exhibition. It showcases cuisine matches and celebrity chefs.
The event is staged annually in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.
History
The inaugural Good Food & Wine Show was st ...
* Huon Hooke (wine critic)
*Langton's Classification of Australian Wine
''Langton's Classification of Australian Wine'' is a listing of fine Australian wines compiled by wine-specialist auction house and online merchant Langton's. The Classification is a ranking of the best-performing Australian wines based on secon ...
*National Wine Centre of Australia
The National Wine Centre of Australia (commonly the "Wine Centre") is a public exhibition building about winemaking and its industry in South Australia, opened in 2001. It contains an interactive permanent exhibition of winemaking, introducing ...
*Wine Australia
Wine Australia is an Australian Government statutory corporation that promotes and regulates the Australian wine industry. It was created as the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) in 1981 to replace the Australian Wine Board by the ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*The globe in a glass. ''The Economist'' (London), 16 December 199
*
*
*
*Halliday, James (1994). ''A history of the Australian wine industry 1949–1994'' Adelaide: Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation in association with Winetitles .
*
*Kramer, Matt. ''Making Sense of Wine''. Philadelphia: Running Pres, 2003.
*McCarthy, Ed, and Ewing-Mulligan, Mary. ''Wine for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us''. Foster City, CA: IDG Books, 1995.
*Palmer, Margot. Australian Wine. An Export Success Stor
(Sydney), December 2007.
*
*Phillips, Rod. ''A Short History of Wine''. NY: HarperCollins, 2000.
*Zraly, Kevin. ''Windows of the World Complete Wine Course''. NY: Sterling, 2005.
External links
Wine Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Wine
Australian wine,