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Australia

Contents
  1. Introduction to Australia
  2. Wine Australia: The Label Integrity Program and Geographical Indications
  3. Technology in Viticulture and Winemaking
  4. South Australia
  5. New South Wales
  6. Victoria
  7. Western Australia
  8. Tasmania
  9. Queensland

Introduction to Australia
In 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip landed the First Fleet, eleven ships whose passengers included British soldiers, convicts, and a few free settlers, along the coastline of Botany Bay, just eight miles south of the modern-day Sydney Central Business District. Captain Phillip founded the penal colony of New South Wales and its capital, the city of Sydney—Australia’s first permanent European settlement. Prior to landfall in Australia, the First Fleet stopped for supplies—including vine cuttings—at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and the British planted vines near Sydney upon landing in 1788. This original vineyard bore fruit three years later but did not last. In its earliest days as a penal colony, Australia suffered from little winemaking expertise, and advances in viticulture were slow. Nonetheless, the vine (a non-native plant) spread from New South Wales to Tasmania in 1823, and from Tasmania to South Australia by 1837 and to Victoria in 1838. In the Swan River Colony of Western Australia, settlers planted the first vineyard in 1830. Free immigrants arrived in Australia throughout the 1830s and 1840s from all corners of Europe, and brought winemaking traditions with them. Some of today’s most famous names arose as small family-owned wineries in this period, including Lindeman’s (1843), Penfolds (1844), Orlando Wines (1847), and Yalumba (1849). In the 1850s, the promise of gold lured even greater droves of European immigrants to southeastern Australia, and interest in winemaking burgeoned.

Boom days for gold equaled boom days for wine, particularly in the gold-rich colony of Victoria, which asserted itself as Australia’s largest producer of wine by the 1870s. However, as
  • in reply to Sam Bortugno

    Hey Sam! Great Question. Per the Köppen Climate Classification Barossa falls under a mix of BSk (Cool Semi-Arid) and Csb (Warm-summer Mediterranean). Most of the grape growing occurs under a Warm Continental climate as the area lacks the mitigating body of water of a true Mediterranean climate. Per Barossa wine "Warm and dry, with low relative humidity and rainfall." All in all, it is a continentally driven climate, but a Mediterranean climate can sound nice for marketing. 

  • in reply to Sam Bortugno

    also seeing Mediterranean here: barossawine.com/.../

  • Wine Australia defines the climate of Barossa Valley GI as Mediterranean.  Can anyone clarify why it says it is warm continental in the guide above?

    www.wineaustralia.com/.../barossa

  • in reply to Jonathan Eichholz

    Cool. Thank you for the info! 

  • in reply to Anthony Gullikson

    Hey Anthony! Confirming that Pinot Noir is the most planted grape in Yarra at 41% of plantings. As of 2021, Pinot Noir is the top grape in Gippsland, it overtook Chardonnay in plantings in 2018. The guide is updated and adjusted. 

  • In the Yarra Valley section it reads “Now, Yarra Valley has just over 2,000 ha of vines. Pinot Noir is the region’s most planted variety, with Chardonnay coming in a close second.”

    However in the Gippsland section it states “ As in Yarra, Chardonnay is currently the most planted grape in Gippsland, with Pinot Noir not far behind.”

  • Apparently Gingin clone and Mendoza are not the same clone.

    Study on Chardonnay clones

  • in reply to Jennifer Angelosante

    At every turn, things only get more fascinating. Thanks for the additional background, Jennifer, very helpful to know!

  • in reply to Keith Mattrick

    Hi Keith, the data likely came from Wine Australia, but I can't be sure which report. I've softened the language above and included Shiraz. While tonnage and acreage %s can be wildly different, it's difficult to imagine that Shiraz is not among the most highly planted based on the 2020 data. However, it's worth keeping in mind that 2020 was a not a typical vintage there, and it's difficult to know the role that drought and fires/smoke may have played on the yields.

    Taking a look at Mudgee's regional site, it looks like they may be trying to deemphasize Shiraz and Cabernet in the future, so perhaps this is why Shiraz does not appear on Mudgee's page on Wine Australia's site.

  • The correct name is SOUTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES ZONE! 

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