In January 1788, an English ship carrying 300 convicts and guards landed in Sydney harbour on the east coast of Australia. The commander was Captain Arthur Phillip, who also went on to become the first governor. He noted that in such a favourable climate, viticulture can be driven to any desired degree of perfection. He immediately ordered the vines that had been brought along to be planted, in an area known as Farm Cove today. However, it was to take another 200 years until viticulture was really firmly established in Australia. In the early years, consumption of rum was so excessive that the settlement became known as the „Rum Corps”. Scottish botanist James Busby (1802-1871), who acquired his knowledge of viticulture in France, and emigrated to Australia, is regarded as the „father of viticulture in Australia”. In 1825he founded a farm in the Hunter River Valley, north of Sydney, in what is today one of the very best Australian wine-growing regions. He returned from a trip to Europe in 1833 with hundreds of different varieties of vines, including the red Syrah grape, which later became famous in Australia as Shiraz. Busby published books and documentations on viticulture, grape varieties and on production methods in the wine cellar. His experience and advice was of great use to Silesian immigrants who came to the country from 1841 onwards, and established vineyards. In 1845 the English medical doctor Dr. Christopher Penfold founded his wine estate in the Barossa Valley, this is still in existence under the Penfolds name. Another pioneer was John Riddoch (1827-1901), he was the first to establish vineyards in the famous Coonawarry region in the early 1890’s, creating a boom there. Of equal importance was Thomas Hardy, who established a wine estate in the McLaren Vale in 1853, and grew to be the largest producer of wine in Australia by the end of the 19th century. A viticultural research institute was founded in Merbein in the Riverland region (Victoria) in 1919, this was then attached to the CSIRO institute in 1927. Two additional important viticultural institutions are the AWRI and Charles Sturt University.
For more than 100 years, Australia produced mainly heavy, alcoholic sweet dessert wines, these were fortified and sold as „Australian Port”. From the early 1960’s there was an change, initially to fresh white wines. The well-known wine writer and winemaker Len Evans (1930 - 2006) was at the forefront of this development. A real milestone was the wine created by the legendary cellar master Max Schubert#Schubert Max (1915-1994), the Grange Hermitage first made in 1959, this is a red wine in a Bordeaux style, produced by the Penfolds company. From the mid 1960’s, this became the starting point for the production of outstanding red wines, mainly made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Shiraz, either as varietal wines or as blends. Australia has done most among the countries of the New World to develop viticulture, and has become a true nation of wine drinkers within a single generation. The total vineyard area is around 155.000 hectares, with more than 500 producers producing more than 9 million hectolitres of wine in 2006. The overall quality of the wines produced is excellent, and Australian winemakers are sought after the world over, often making a name for themselves as consultants or Flying Winemakers. Mostly varietal wines are produced. Dry white wines account for 50% of total production, red wines around 40% and sweet resp. fortified wines make up the remaining 10%. Around 70% of production is accounted for by simple bag-in-box wines#Bag-in-Box. Among the largest and best-known producers are Beringer Blass, Brand´s, Coldstream Hills, Hardy, Heggies, Hill Smith Estate, Katnook Estate, Lindemans, McWilliams, Mildara, Penfolds, Pewsey Vale, Southcorp, Rosemount Estate, Rothbury Estate, Rymill, Wynns and Yalumba. Sultana grapes are planted on a quarter of the vineyard area, these are used primarily fort he production of raisins. The main wine grape varieties are:
The huge land area ensures there are many different climatic zones, from hot and dry, mainly in Western Australia (Swan Valley is one of the hottest wine-growing regions in the world) and Northern Australia, to relatively cool in Tasmania. Wehre necessary, irrigation is provided in the hot, dry regions. Around three-quarters of the vineyard area is located in the cooler regions of South Australia. The vineyards are dispersed around the coutnryside, stretching from Brisbane to Perth over a distance of around 4.000 kilometres. The information stated on the label is fairly basic. Where a vintage is stated, 85% of the grapes must be from that vintage. Chaptalisation (with sugar) is prohibited, but acidification is fermented. In terms of oak contact, the label will usually state one of the following: „unwooded” (no oak), „wood matured” (which may mean in a wooden barrel, or using oak chips) or „barrel fermented” (with oak barrels being used). Where several varieties are stated on a label, the variety making up the highest percentage of the blend will be stated first. It is quite common to use grapes from several different growing regions in a single wine, this is then known as a multi-district blend (this now has to comply with the information stated with regard to geographic origin – see below. The back label usually contains details of the harvest, vinification, maturation and taste.
After long years of preparation, the „Geographical Indications” (GI) appellation system was introduced in 2001. Compared to almost all other appellation systems in the world, it is extremely simple, and provides lots of leeway. The only thing defined is the geographical limits of growing regions, with no restrictions on varieties planted, pruning, trellising systems, alcohol content or style of wine. Where a growing region is stated, 85% of the wine must be sourced from there. The boundaries cannot yet be considered to be final, as more than 50 producers have filed claims against the boundaries (for instance, some estates ruled to lie just outside of the famous GI Coonawarra have queried why they have not been included). Australia is divided politically into six federal states: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria, as well as into the three territories Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory (with the capital of Canberra) and the Coral Sea Island Territory (groups of islands, irrelevant for wine-growing. For viticultural purposes, there are eight states/territories with a total of 27 zones, as well as one super-zomne covering several states. By now, there are more than 60 sub-zones within the defined zones, and a further 50 sub-zones are in the planning stage, with an upward trend).The following regions and zones have been classified so far (all names listed indicate a wine of origin zone = GI):
New South Wales: The federal state in the southeast of the continent has become famous mainly through the Hunter Valley. The GI regions are: Big Rivers: Murray Darling, Perricoota, Riverina, Swan Hill; Central Ranges: Cowra, Mudgee, Orange; Hunter Valley: Hunter (Allandale, Belford, Broke Fordwich, Dalwood, Pokolbin, Rothbury); Northern Rivers: Hastings River; Northern Slopes; South Coast: New England, Shoalhaven Coast, Southern Highlands; Southern New South Wales: Canberra District, Gundagai, Hilltops, Tumbarumba; Western Plains
Queensland: Granite Belt; South Burnett
South Australia: This federal state produces half the wine in Australia. The GI regions are: Adelaide = Superzone with Barossa, Fleurieu und Mount Lofty Ranges; Barossa: Barossa Valley, Eden Valley (High Eden, Springton); Far North; Fleurieu: Currency Creek, Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale (Clarendon), Southern Fleurieu; Limestone Coast: Coonawarra, Mount Benson, Padthaway, Robe, Wrattonbully; Lower Murray: Riverland; Mount Lofty Ranges: Adelaide Hills (Gumeracha, Lenswood, Piccadilly Valley), Adelaide Plains, Clare Valley (Auburn, Clare, Hill River, Polish Hill River, Sevenhill, Watervale); The Peninsulas: Southern Eyre Peninsula
South Eastern Australia: This „superzone” includes all of New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria, as well as parts of Queensland and South Australia.
Tasmania: The federal state of Tasmania lies on the eponymous island off the south coast of Australia, and is the most southerly wine-growing region. There are three regions: East Coast Tasmania, Northern Tasmania and Southern Tasmania.
Victoria: The GI´s of this federal state in the southeast lie in a radius of around 200 km around Melbourne. Central Victoria: Bendigo, Goulburn Valley (Nagambie Lakes), Heathcote, Strathbogie Ranges, Upper Goulburn; Gippsland; North East Victoria: Alpine Valleys (Kiewa Valley, Ovens Valley), Beechworth, Glenrowan, King Valley (Myrrhee, Whitlands), Rutherglen (Wahgunyah); North West Victoria: Murray Darling, Swan Hill; Port Philip: Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Sunbury, Yarra Valley; Western Victoria: Grampians (Great Western), Henty, Pyrenees
Western Australia: Central Western Australia; Eastern Plains; Inland & North of Western Australia; Greater Perth (Perth Hills; Swan District mit Swan Valley); South West Australia (Blackwood Valley; Geographe; Great Southern with Albany, Denmark, Frankland River, Mount Barker and Porongurup; Manjimup; Margaret River; Pemberton; Warren Valley); West Australian South East Coastal.
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