Australia may not have the centuries-old tradition of wine making that other countries can boast. In fact, Australians’ wine-making ambitions have only really blossomed in the last few decades. But what the Australian wine business lacks in history it makes up for in innovation and diversity, and it has become one of the most exciting international success stories of the 21st century.
In fact, you could say that Australia’s lack of an entrenched wine tradition is a huge advantage. It allows wine-makers to take the very best ingredients and practices from around the world and to develop them into superb wine that is uniquely Australian and highly exportable. And it is this spirit of innovation that has also made the Australian wine industry the worldwide leader in online wine buying.
And numbers don’t lie. Today, Australian wine sales total nearly 1.5 billion liters per year, with almost two thirds of that total being exported. In fact, Australia has become the fourth biggest exporter of wine in the world, behind the traditional wine-making countries of Italy, France, and Spain. The two biggest destinations for Australian wine are the U.S. and U.K., which through wine sales contribute $2 billion annually to the Australian economy.
History of Australian Wine
The first grape vines came to Australia in 1788 on the ship of Captain Arthur Phillip, who brought them from Brazil and South Africa. Soon thereafter, the first commercial wineries came about in the Sydney region, and by the mid-1800s the winemaking industry had spread through all the states, with the first tentative exports being made to the U.K. and elsewhere.
The dreaded Phylloxera, which decimated European vine crops in the mid-1800s, hit Australia around 1870 and severely damaged many young wineries. However, the southern states remained largely unaffected by the disease, which allowed southern wineries to gain a larger share of the international wine market.
But it was not until after the Second World War that the Australian wine industry really began to boom. During the war, Australian and international armed forces stationed in the country gave a huge boost to the Australian wine economy, which primed it for the postwar years of growth. After the war, a massive influx of immigrants from Europe brought centuries of winemaking know-how to the existing Australian wine industry and helped develop the incredible array of high-quality wines that we have now.
Australian Wine Now
Today, Australia has over 60 designated wine regions. And thanks to the amazing diversity of Australia’s soils and climate conditions, the country’s winemaking industry consists of every type of wine ever invented, including some special formulas that are uniquely Australian.
For whatever reason, wine making and natural beauty tend to go hand in hand, and this applies to Australia as much as anywhere else. The Australian wine regions have become major destinations for domestic and international tourism not only for their high-quality wines, but also for the beautiful climates and landscapes of the Australian countryside.
And of course, typical of the national character, Australians are also on the cutting edge of all the latest developments in making and selling wine. The development of organic and biodynamic wine making has been championed by many in the business, and Australian wines now make up one of the largest shares of the international biodynamic wine sales, particularly in the lucrative European high-end market.
Meanwhile, buying wine online is becoming the preferred method of many wine aficionados to gain access to wines that aren’t for sale in local shops. Online wine sales may still only be a small share of the market, but many industry analysts expect online wine buying to become a powerful force in the years come, as Australian wine makers and sellers continue to employ the latest technologies to develop their business.