New World: Wines of Australia – Fully booked
Australian wine growing areas extend from the Granite Belt in southern Queensland to Tasmania in the south and Margaret River in the west. Most of the regions are located on or near the coast. There is a big range of climates, soil types and varietal mixes making Australia’s wine offering very diverse.
There are over 100 varieties grown in Australia. The top five are: Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.
Australia’s wine grape production is around 1.75 m tonnes per year, from a vineyard base of 146,000 hectares spread over 65 wine growing regions.
Australia has around 4 per cent of world wine production and is the world’s fifth largest wine exporter. It is made up of 65 wine regions, approximately 2500 wineries and over 6000 grape growers.