Australian wine#GSM

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Vine cuttings from the Cape of Good Hope were brought to the penal colony of New South Wales by Governor Phillip on the First Fleet (1788). Wine produced from this was initially for household use.{{Sfnp|Osmond|Anderson|1998|p=4}}

An attempt at wine making from these first vines failed, but with perseverance, other settlers managed to successfully cultivate vines for winemaking, and Australian made wine was available for sale domestically by the 1820s.Hartley, Clive, The Australian Wine Guide, Hospitality Books, NSW 2002 In 1822 Gregory Blaxland became the first person to export Australian wine, and was the first winemaker to win an overseas award.{{cite news |

publisher=[A.N.U. Canberra] |

work=Wine Talk |

url=http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ERIC/wia.html |

title=The Wine Industry of Australia 1788 1979 |

date=1979 |

access-date=8 September 2006 |

first= Gerald |last= Walsh| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060828070951/http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ERIC/wia.html| archive-date= 28 August 2006 | url-status= live}} In 1830 vineyards were established in the Hunter Valley.{{cite book| last =Clark|

first =Oz|

title =Australian Wine Companion|

year=2004|

publisher =Time Warner Book Group UK|

isbn = 0-316-72874-8|

page = s.12 }} In 1833 James Busby 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 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 in the mid-1850s were important in establishing South Australia's Barossa Valley as a winemaking region. In smaller scale, winemakers from Switzerland also helped in establishing Geelong wine region in Victoria in 1842.

In 1853, Australia had less than six hundred hectares of grapes, with only a portion used for winemaking.{{Sfnp|Osmond|Anderson|1998|p=4}}

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 of the wine was revealed, on the grounds that wines of that quality must clearly be French."{{cite book |last= Phillips| first= Roderick |title=A short history of wine |publisher=Allen Lane |location=London |year=2000 |page=265 |isbn=0-7139-9432-0 }} Australian wines continued to win high honours in French competitions. A Victorian Syrah (also called Shiraz) competing in the 1878 Paris Exhibition was likened to Château Margaux 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 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 when Australia was a net importer of wine.{{Sfnp|Osmond|Anderson|1998|p=1}} Low grape prices in 2005 and 2006 have led to calls for another sponsored vine pull.{{cite news |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |work=PM|url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1655724.htm |title=Grape glut: call for subsidised vine pull |date=5 June 2006 |access-date=27 August 2006 |first= Nance |last= Haxton}} Cleanskin wines were introduced into Australia during the 1960s as a means to combat oversupply and poor sales.

During the Black Summer bushfires of 2019 to 2020, winemaking was adversely affected in production areas struck by fire or smoke, which affects flavour through smoke taint. The Adelaide Hills wine region was particularly badly hit, losing up to 30% of its vineyards.{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=David |title=How bushfires have hit Australia's winemakers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/feb/16/how-bushfires-have-hit-australia-winemakers |access-date=15 April 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 February 2020}} Some winemakers found innovative ways to get around the problem of tainted grapes.{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Prue |title=Winemakers get creative to salvage smoke-tainted grapes |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-21/salvaging-smoke-tainted-grapes-after-bushfires-in-adelaide-hills/12059540 |access-date=15 April 2020 |work=ABC News (Australia)|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=21 March 2020}}

In 2020, China placed taxes of more than 200% on Australian wines at a time when China was Australia's most lucrative market.{{cite news |last=Mao |first=Frances |date=28 March 2024 |title=China removes tariffs on Australian wine as relations improve |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/china-removes-tariffs-australian-wine-082920858.html |work=Yahoo! News |access-date=28 March 2024}} As relations between the two countries improved the tariffs were removed in March 2024.

In 2024, in part due to overproduction as well as falling consumption, Australian vignerons uprooted millions of vines.{{Cite news |last=Hobson |first=Peter |date=11 March 2024 |access-date=11 March 2024 |title=Australian farmers rip out millions of vines amid wine glut |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australian-farmers-rip-out-millions-vines-amid-wine-glut-2024-03-09/}}

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Major grape varieties are Shiraz, Pinot noir, Cabernet Sauvignon,{{cite book| last =Walton| first =Stuart| title =Cook's Encyclopedia of Wine| year =2005| publisher =Anness Publishing Limited 2002, 2005| pages =s.232, 233| isbn =0-7607-4220-0| url =https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760742204| url-access =registration}} Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Sémillon, and Riesling. The country has no native grapes, and Vitis vinifera 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.{{Cite web |title=Australian wine regions – Wine tasting & tours|url=https://www.winetourism.com/wine-country/australia/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=winetourism.com}}

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, Pinot grigio, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, Malbec, Barbera, Arneis, Fiano (grape) and Viognier 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 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.

{{anchor|GSM}}

GSM is a name commonly used for a red wine consisting of a blend of Grenache, Shiraz (Syrah), and Mourvèdre.J. Robinson (ed) The Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd ed. pp. 297–298, 333–334, Oxford University Press 2006 {{ISBN|0-19-860990-6}} Blends where Shiraz is the main component are sometimes referred to instead as SGM.Wine Enthusiast, [https://www.wineenthusiast.com/varietals/g-s-m/ "What is G-S-M"]

This blend originated from those used in some Southern Rhône wines, including Châteauneuf-du-Pape, though it is also found in South Australia, California (particularly Paso Robles, originating with Tablas Creek Vineyard), and Washington (Columbia Valley); smaller production exists in Argentina and South Africa. A very similar blend is traditional to Priorat (in Catalonia, Spain), still based on Garnacha (Grenache), but adding Mazuelo (Carignan), Syrah, and Merlot (same GS, different M's).Wine Folly, [http://winefolly.com/review/try-gsm-cotes-du-rhone-blend/ Time to Try 'GSM' The Côtes du Rhône Blend], Madeline Puckette, 4 December 2013

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 tannins. Shiraz can contribute full-bodied, fleshy flavours of black fruits and pepper. It adds colour, 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 {{ISBN|1-85732-999-6}}

File:YendaMcWilliamsWines.JPG in the Riverina wine region]]

Australia's most famous wine is Penfolds Grange. 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 in Paris. The 1990 vintage was named 'Red Wine of the Year' by the Wine Spectator 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 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".The Economist (16 December 1999 ). [http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=268095 "The globe in a glass"] {{subscription}} Other red wines to garner international attention include Henschke Hill of Grace,{{cite web|url=http://www.langtons.com.au/Magazine/Caillard.aspx?MagazineID=187|title=News – Langton's Fine Wines|website=Langtons.com.au|access-date=5 October 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/winenews050727.html|title=Langton's Classification of Australian Wine IV – Articles|website=Jancisrobinson.com|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704000619/http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/winenews050727.html|archive-date=4 July 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.camwheeler.com/wine/2005/langtons-australian-wine-classification-iv/|title=Langton's Australian Wine Classification IV – Appellation Australia|website=Camwheeler.com|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227135931/http://www.camwheeler.com/wine/2005/langtons-australian-wine-classification-iv/|archive-date=27 December 2014|url-status=dead}} Clarendon Hills Astralis, D'Arenberg Dead Arm, Torbreck Run Rig and other high-end Penfolds wines such as St Henri shiraz.

File:Vines near Naracoorte3.jpg in the Wrattonbully region]]

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 (Yellow Tail wines) and the Berri Estates winery in Glossop, South Australia. 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/1612RPT_Wine%20Grape%20Growers%20Final%20Report_D03.pdf|title=Wine Grape market study: Final Report|date=September 2019|website=Australian Competition and Consumer Commission|access-date=11 April 2020}}

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{{see also|List of wine-producing regions#Australia}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.awbc.com.au/RegisterNames.aspx?p=27&s=1 |title=Register of Protected Names (includes textual descriptions of Australia's GIs) |publisher=Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation |access-date=5 September 2006 |year=2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819030438/http://www.awbc.com.au/RegisterNames.aspx?p=27&s=1 |archive-date=19 August 2006 |url-status=live}} The largest volume of wine is produced from grapes grown in the warm climate Murray-Darling Basin zones of Lower Murray, 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 industry is responsible for most of the production of wine in Australia.{{cite web |title=South Australia |url=http://www.wineaustralia.com/australia/Default.aspx?tabid=176 |publisher=Wine Australia |access-date=24 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409203807/http://www.wineaustralia.com/Australia/Default.aspx?tabid=176 |archive-date=9 April 2011 |url-status=dead}} In recent years, the Tasmanian wine 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 region in the state's extreme south, production is centred on the towns of Stanthorpe and Ballandean.

File:Barossa Valley South Australia.jpg in South Australia]]

Some well-known wine-producing regions include:

; South Australia wine regions

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• Adelaide Hills
• Barossa Valley
• Clare Valley
• Coonawarra
• Eden Valley
• Langhorne Creek
• McLaren Vale
• Padthaway
• Riverland
• Southern Fleurieu
• Wrattonbully
• Southern Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas
• Currency Creek
• Kangaroo Island

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; Victoria wine regions

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• Alpine Valleys
• Beechworth
• Gippsland
• Goulburn Valley
• Grampians
• Heathcote wine region
• Henty
• Mornington Peninsula
• Pyrenees
• Rutherglen
• Strathbogie wine region
• Yarra Valley
• King Valley
• Bendigo
• Glenrowan wine region

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; New South Wales wine regions

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• Hunter Valley
• Mudgee
• Orange
• Riverina
• New England
• Southern Highlands
• Shoalhaven Coast

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; Western Australia wine regions{{cite web|url=http://www.wineaustralia.net.au/en/wine-regions/western-australia.aspx|publisher=Wine Australia|title=Western Australia's Wine Regions|access-date=25 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713072615/http://wineaustralia.net.au/en/wine-regions/western-australia.aspx|archive-date=13 July 2014|url-status=dead}}

Greater Perth:

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• Perth Hills
• Peel
• Swan Valley

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South Western Australia:

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• Blackwood Valley
• Geographe
• Manjimup
• Margaret River
• Pemberton

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• Great Southern and its subregions Albany, Denmark, Frankland River, Mount Barker, Porongurup

; Tasmania wine regions{{cite web|url=http://winetasmania.com.au/wine_trails|title=Wine Trails|website=Winetasmania.com.au|access-date=5 October 2018}}

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• Tamar Valley
• Derwent Valley
• Huon Valley / Channel
• Coal River Valley
• Pipers River
• East Coast
• North West

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; Queensland wine

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• Granite Belt

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The Australian Wine export market was worth 2.8 billion Australian dollars (A$) a year in June 2007, having grown at 9%pa.The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation [http://www.wineaustralia.com/australia/News/Reports/WineExportApprovalReports/tabid/204/Default.aspx Wine Export Approval Report Excerpts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421161825/http://www.wineaustralia.com/australia/News/Reports/WineExportApprovalReports/tabid/204/Default.aspx |date=21 April 2012 }} 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%.U.S. Department of Commerce {{cite web |url= http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/ocg/wine2008.pdf |title= U.S. Wine Industry – 2008 |access-date= 11 December 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175015/http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/ocg/wine2008.pdf |archive-date= 3 March 2016 |url-status= dead }} {{small|(37.8 KB)}}

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.Winemakers' Federation of Australia Strategy (May 2007), {{cite web |url= http://www.wfa.org.au/PDF/Directions%20to%202025.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070829143407/http://www.wfa.org.au/PDF/Directions%20to%202025.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2007-08-29 |title= Wine Australia: Directions to 2025 }} {{small|(355 KB)}} This is partly due to exchange rate 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%.{{cite web |title= Wine Industry India |website= Imaginmor.com |url= http://www.imaginmor.com/wineindustryindia.html |access-date= 10 January 2011 |archive-date= 11 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150911213351/http://www.imaginmor.com/wineindustryindia.html |url-status= dead }} Australia was China's largest supplier of imported wine, a standing achieved in part by free-trade agreements established between the two countries.{{Cite journal|last=Worobiec|first=MaryAnn|date=March 2018|title=Chinese Wine Titan Invests in Australia|journal=Wine Spectator|pages=16}} However, in retaliation for the Australian government's support of an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19, China imposed tariffs of over 200% on Australian wine in October 2020. These tariffs have been lifted as of April 2024 following an improvement in relations between the two countries.{{Cite web |title=China lifts steep Australian wine tariffs as relations improve |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/28/china-lifts-steep-tariffs-on-australian-wine-as-relations-improve |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}

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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.afr.com/news/politics/national/here-s-cheers-to-aussie-winemakers-after-trade-win-against-canada-20190409-p51cey|title=Here's cheers to Aussie winemakers after trade win against Canada}}

Australian wine research and production is supported by the government through partnerships with the publicly funded CSIRO and Wine Australia worth $18 million.{{Cite journal|last=Newman|first=Saul J.|date=2019-03-23|title=End government support for pro-alcohol research|journal=The Lancet|volume=393|issue=10177|page=1200|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32412-7|pmid=30910297|issn=0140-6736|doi-access=}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2017/Wine-Australia-and-CSIRO-sign-$37-million-investment-agreement|title=Wine Australia and CSIRO sign $37 million investment agreement|last=CSIRO|website=www.csiro.au|language=en-AU|access-date=2019-03-23}} In an average year, alcohol production in Australia is estimated to produce between $3.3 and $5.5 billion in taxable income.

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• Agriculture in Australia
• Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal
• Australian Wine Research Institute
• Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology
• Australia's First Families of Wine
• Good Food & Wine Show
• Huon Hooke (wine critic)
• Langton's Classification of Australian Wine
• National Wine Centre of Australia

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{{Reflist}}

Sources

• {{cite book|last1=Osmond|first1=Robert|last2=Anderson|first2=Kym|author2-link=Kym Anderson|title=Trends and Cycles in the Australian Wine Industry, 1850 to 2000|publisher=Centre for International Economic Studies: University of Adelaide|year=1998|isbn=0863964494}}

{{div col|colwidth=45em}}

• {{Clarke-AustWineCompan|ref=none}}
• {{Forrestal-Wineries|ref=none}}
• {{Halliday-AustWineCompend|ref=none}}
• Halliday, James (1994). A History of the Australian Wine Industry 1949–1994. Adelaide: Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation in association with Winetitles. {{ISBN|1875130160}}
• {{Halliday-JHWAtlasAust2008|ref=none}}
• Kramer, Matt. Making Sense of Wine. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0762415793}}
• McCarthy, Ed, and Ewing-Mulligan, Mary. Wine for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us. Foster City, California: IDG Books, 1995.
• Palmer, Margot. [http://www.oneworldpublications.com/aussiewineexports.html "Australian Wine. An Export Success Story"], in Crème de la Crème, Sydney, December 2007.
• {{Simon-Wines Australia|ref=none}}
• Phillips, Rod. A Short History of Wine. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
• Zraly, Kevin. Windows of the World Complete Wine Course. New York: Sterling, 2005.

{{refend}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• [http://www.wineaustralia.com Wine Australia]

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