Although the early Australian wine industry faced many difficulties, it also 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. Nevertheless, Australian wines continued to win high honors in French competitions. That was all before the destructive effects on the industry of the phylloxera epidemic.
In the decades following the devastation caused by phylloxera until the late 1970s, Australian wine production consisted largely, but not exclusively, of sweet and fortified wines. This was true of much New World wine until the historic Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 and subsequent wine competitions demonstrated that wines of the very highest quality could be produced in diverse regions of the world. Since then, Australia has rapidly become a world leader in both the quantity and quality of wines it produces.
Major grape varieties are Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Riesling. The country has no native grapes, and Vitis vinifera varieties were introcuced from Europe and South Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Although Syrah was originally called Shiraz in Australia and Syrah elsewhere, its dramatic commercial success has led many Syrah producers around the world to label their wine "Shiraz".
Australian winemaking results have been impressive and it has established benchmarks for a number of varietals, such as Chardonnay and Shiraz. Moreover, Australians have innovated in canopy management and other viticultural techniques and in wine-making, and they have a general attitude toward their work that sets them apart from producers in Europe.
Major Wine Regions
- South Australia
- Barossa Valley
- Clare Valley
- Coonawarra
- McLaren Vale
- Padthaway
- Victoria
- Goulburn Valley
- Grampians
- Milawa
- Mornington Peninsula
- Pyrenees
- Rutherglen
- Yarra Valley
- New South Wales
- Lower Hunter Valley
- Upper Hunter Valley
- Mudgee
- Riverina
- Western Australia
- Margaret River