Australian Wine’s Taste Evolution

Abstract

Today, beer, wine, cider, spirits, and RTDs (premixed ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages) are a customary part of Australia’s drinking culture. Statistics indicated that Australia was a land of beer drinkers. While beer may still dominate the consumption figures, wine has made a significant impact on the Australian beverage market, both as a social drink and particularly when eating at home or outdoors or dining in cafés and restaurants. This chapter traces the story of Australian wine. It explores Australia’s early alcoholic beverage consumption; explains how wine became part of Australia’s social drinking and dining culture; describes the production, flavors, and use of some wine styles; highlights Australia’s unique wine styles; and discusses emerging wine trends. It outlines some strategies the Australian wine industry has utilized to endure market, pest, and climate change pressures to permit its survival and growth on the global wine stage such as promotion of Australian wine regionality and quality, biosecurity, and the use of grape varieties more suited to Australia’s climatic conditions. Some topics are discussed within a global perspective.