Australia

Grapes were first planted in 1788, but they did not initially do well. At the time, there was a lot of enthusiasm for making wine but less practical know-how. That changed in the 19th century, when several people brought grape growing and wine making knowledge to Australia. In the mid-1800s, immigrants with wine making traditions arrived and brought their wine knowledge with them. Australian wine improved by leaps and bounds but was met with several challenges in the late 1800s.

Phylloxera, a tiny insect that gorges itself on grapevines, arrived in Victoria and wreaked havoc. Fortunately, it did not spread throughout Australia like it did in Europe. After the wine industry recovered, changing tastes and bottom lines caused some producers to prioritise quantity over quality. It wasn’t until the mid-1900s that a shift occurred, driven again by an influx of wine loving immigrants after the world wars coupled with technological advances. Stainless steel tanks and temperature-controlled fermentations were eagerly adopted, and irrigation techniques improved. These advances allowed producers to up their wine quality and helped give Australia the great reputation it has today.