Victorian Wine Industry

History
There are four time periods that encompass wine shows in Australia: 1788-1900, 1901-49, 1950-85 and 1985-97 (Dunphy &Lockshin, 1998). Each time reflected conditions experienced on a local and global level. The feature of wine shows was the development of a quality product and recognition of a discerning market. These features continue today.

Victoria currently has over 600 wineries and more wine-producers than any other Australian state. Viticulture has been part of the Victorian economy since the 19th century and days of the early settlers. Today winemaking is spread across the state. The success of the Victorian wine industry was by no means an easy path as it was fraught with many obstacles: Wine glut, phylloxera and the recession. This learning curve fortified the industry to become recognised as a unique diverse and geographically compact wine-growing region.

The 19th century saw Victoria recognised world wide as a producer of high quality wines. However the recession of the first half of the 20th century witnessed the industry decline. Nevertheless the unique features of the state along with support, expertise and a united goal to succeed contributed to Victoria’s economic growth.

One of the earliest known vineyards planted in Victoria was in Portland in 1834 by Edward Henty. In 1838 William Ryrie planted the first vines in the Yarra Valley at Yering and produced the first wine in 1845. In 1839 Joseph LaTrobe encouraged other people to plant vines around Melbourne. Some of the earliest commercial plantings were established by Hubert de Castella. By the 20th century plantings had moved from cooler south coastal regions to warmer north eastern locations. The preceding 40 years saw winemaking in country areas gaining strength: Rutherglen was well established and Great Western, Mildura and Tahbilk were a growing enterprise.

At the time of the Federation of the states in 1901 there were over 1200 vineyards recorded and Victoria was the largest wine-producing state. The phylloxera epidemic soon followed and many vineyards were devastated (the effects were felt by many producers for the next few decades). Then came the Great War and with the recession of the first half of the 20th century the Industry declined. Returning soldiers had embraced the grape-growing industry. Overproduction and consequently lower prices for some grape varieties meant that some vineyards were unable to compete economically. Many vineyards collapsed and Victoria was faced with a surplus of fruit.

The 1960’s could be described as the time the Victorian wine industry re-emerged. Technology developed and expanded and consumer taste for finer wines increased. During the early 1980’s the combined effects of recession and drought took hold. The Victorian Government of the time took action to assist economic growth and employment. The Government already recognised the strength of the Victorian wine industry:  Diverse viticultural region, geographical compactness, expertise and experience, old and new vines and stocks. In 1981-82 the Australian Wine and Brandy Association reported Victoria producing 11.5 percent of grapes for wine production in Australia: An important contributor to the state’s economy.  The Wine Industry Association (WIA) was established to develop programs to assist the Victorian wine industry. Colin Richardson was among the group of interim steering committee to facilitate the formation of the WIA (now VWIA). An authentication process was implemented to establish and maintain credibility. The primary features being ‘soundness’ of wine and grapes grown in defined regions. While the system did not take off it did encourage more research and development in improving wine quality. Around this time the labelling of wine with overseas wine names of regional origin was also changed. Australia-wide generic terms like ‘Champagne’ and ‘Burgundy’ were no longer used. The aim of these organisations was to foster awareness that Victorian wine is re-emerging as a quality product.

In 200 years the wine industry has grown from a few plantings to one of global recognition for quality and innovation. The soil, climate, location, grape varieties are all environmental influences along with expertise and experience that impact on wine quality and character. As wine has become more popular it has become part of Australian culture.

Dunphy (1998). "A History of the Australian Wine Show System". Journal of wine research (0957-1264), 9 (2), p. 87.