The wine economy

In 2006–07, sales of Australian wine totalled approximately 1.23 billion litres: 449 million litres were sold domestically and 786 million litres were exported. Australian wine exports were worth $2.87 billion, which represented an increase of 4.4 per cent over the previous year.

Australia’s largest wine export market in 2006–07 was the United Kingdom (269 million litres, worth $977 million), closely followed by the United States (215 million litres, worth $856 million). Other leading destinations for Australian wines included Canada, Germany and New Zealand.

Wine production is a significant industry in Australia. It directly employs 28 000 people in both winemaking and grape growing (2006 Census) and generates related employment in the retail, wholesale and hospitality industries.

Tourism adds another dimension to wine’s importance in Australia. International and domestic tourism related to the wine industry accounts for an important share of Australia’s export earnings, employment and taxation income.

In 2006–07, the industry crushed 1.39 million tonnes of grapes to make 955 million litres of beverage wine. In 2007, the total wine grape vineyard area reached 163 951 hectares of bearing vines, and there were a further 9825 hectares of non-bearing vines. The area of bearing vines has more than doubled since 1996–97.

In 2006–07, the domestic market accounted for 36 per cent of total sales of Australian wine by volume. Table wines made up 84.9 per cent of local wine consumption, sparkling wines accounted for 8.8 per cent and fortified wines for 3.8 per cent.