The World-class Australian Wine Industry — Why you should be proud

The Australian wine industry is know the world over for its flavour, depth, and quality. The country is consistently voted to be among the top wine producing nations on Earth with its diverse wine regions that are spread across the country. 

History

• 1788 – The first vines to ever reach the Australian continent were brought to Sydney by Governor Arthur Philip. Majority of the vines didn’t yield good harvest.
• 1805 – Australia’s first successful vineyards were establish in Parramatta.
• 1833 – The father of the Australian wine industry, James Busby, brought cuttings from Spain and France. Only 362 of these wine saplings survived the journey to Australia and were planted in Sydney’s Botanical Gardens. Several cuttings from this were also planted across New South Wales, Victoria, and southern Australia.
• 1840s – Wine production began to increase across parts of southern Australia.
• 1854 – Start of Australia’s wine exports to the UK.
• 1980s– The country have burst into export markets.

After all those years, Australia now produces and exports millions of gallons of wine every year. It now has thousands of large scale vineyards and smaller independent wineries, producing award winning wines that are known the world over. The country’s wine industry still continues to flourish to this day.

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Role of Immigrants

The pursuit of wine making didn’t really pick up until the arrival of immigrants with wine making and agriculture backgrounds. The Europeans who immigrated to Australia after the Second World War brought not only their preference for table wine with their meals but most importantly their wealth of knowledge in skills and techniques for wine production.

Top Importers

According to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment the top destinations for bottled Australian wine (2020) are:

• China – $898m
• United States – $364m 
• United Kingdom – $211m
• Canada – $150m
• Hong Kong – $138m
• Others – $506m

China’s anti-dumping tariffs on Australian Wine

The Australian government as well as the Australian Grape and Wine (national association of grape and wine producers in AU) have repeatedly denied China’s dumping allegations. Relations between Australia and China began to sour after Australia supported the call for an international inquiry into the way China handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of wine exports to China has clearly been devastating. The Australian government attempted to resolve this issue bilaterally but these efforts have repeatedly failed. Canberra then had no other choice but to ask the World Trade Organization (WTO) to mediate. After almost a year have past, Australian wine making companies have now considered and planned their new strategies that are geared to shift away from the Chinese market. A good example of this is the Randal Wine Group’s 10 year strategy. The Australian wine industry is here to stay.

Some of Australia’s Wine Regions

Barossa Valley (South Australia)

Barossa Valley is less than an hour’s drive from Adelaide. It’s famous for its bold red wines, full-flavoured Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as for its rich wine making heritage. They also have markets and festivals, historic villages, and a great food scene, making it a popular tourist destination.

Clare Valley (South Australia)

This one is two hours north of Adelaide and is located in South Australia’s Mount Lofty Ranges. The Clare Valley wine region has family-run wineries that produces top-quality wines including world class Riesling, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Hunter Valley (New South Wales)

Hunter Valley is only a two-hour drive from Sydney. It’s the home of the country’s first commercial vineyards, with some dating back to the 1860. They’re famous for their award-winning wines (and Semillon, Chardonnay, Shiraz) and also offers top restaurants, cheese, chocolate, cured meats and olives making it one of the country’s most frequented wine regions.

Margaret River (Western Australia)

Only three hours south of Perth. They’re best known for their classic wines, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Mclaren Vale (South Australia)

This region is also in South Australia, only 45 minutes drive from Adelaide. Established in 1838, Mclaren Vale is South Australia’s first wine region. The region has more than 100 wineries and produces diverse styles of wines but is most specially known for their red wines, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache.

 Yarra Valley (Victoria)

The Yarra Valley is Victoria’s first official wine region and is less than an hour’s drive north-east of Melbourne. They’re popular for their cool climate wines and award-winning restaurants and cellar doors.

Sources:
_{^{– https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/02/australia-china-wine-trade-dispute-canberra-considers-involving-wto.html
– https://vinepair.com/articles/australian-wine-101/
– https://www.australianwine.com/en-AU/our-story
– https://www.awe.gov.au/abares/research-topics/trade/australian-wine-in-china
-https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/australia-to-get-involved-in-chinaeu-trade-spat/news-story/52a71e7fdd8d081b8f651f5764e2e330
– https://www.australianwine.com/en-AU/our-story/articles/australia-s-8-most-popular-wine-region}}

Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.

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