Book Excerpt: The Australian Ark

BY ANDREW CAILLARD MW | SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

Our forefathers believed that Australia would become the France of the Southern Hemisphere. It was all interconnected with the British Empire, which propelled the economic prosperity and development of the industry from 1788 for over 150 years. After World War II, the industry was forced to redefine itself, and adopted new technologies and created new expectations for fine wine. Over the last 70 years, Australia has defined itself, and developed a confidence to believe in its own voice and adapt to the spirit of our times.

Australia, I believe, possesses the largest acreage of 19th-century-planted vines in the world. It represents a living symbol of 19th-century ambition and foresight. Much of these plantings have a direct genetic link to James Busby’s famous importation of 1832. William Macarthur’s Camden Nurseries must take credit for the significant transmission of this material throughout the colonies in the early days. Our oldest plantings date back to the 1840s and 1850s.

Most of Australia’s surviving 19th-century vineyards are located in South Australia, which has never been invaded by phylloxera. But ancient vineyards have survived in the Hunter Valley, Great Western, central Victoria, and Swan Valley, a heritage that also includes ancient genetic vinestock. More contemporary plantings are descendants of early imported material. These vineyards are planted with cuttings or rootlings. Selection and propagation of heritage vines, too, have played an important part in establishing Australia’s identity in fine wine.

Between the late 1800s and the 1960s, almost no new material came to Australia, something that was good and bad. Strict quarantine regulations isolated Australia, yet protected our oldest vineyards. But new, virus-free material has been introduced to add to our gene pool of vinestock. A part of this story is the theory of epigenetics, about vine memory, mutation, and adaptation to the environment, which is fascinating and promises much.

The handing down of experience, traditions, and family collaborations has passed through six or even seven generations of Australians, and this has had profound effects on the story and definition of Australian wine. These include the development of wine regions whose individual identity and character have been built through hard work and collaboration; the improvement in winemaking technologies and viticulture through continued learning at institutions like Roseworthy/University of Adelaide and Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga; valuable research and development of new resources and knowledge by the AWRI and CSIRO; and the integration of migrants through the ages – initially the Scots, English, and Irish, followed by many German and Italian families, French winemakers, and others from around the world.

Winemakers, particularly, think of themselves first as Australians and then as custodians of the land. They belong to a tradition that spans the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. It is quite the responsibility of this generation, and the next, in the wine industry to acknowledge, respect, and include all Australians, including the First Nations people who have inhabited this place since the most ancient times. Their contribution promises to bring freshness and new perspectives to the Australian wine story.