1329.0.55.002 - Vineyards, Australia, 2014-15 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/10/2015   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All
MEDIA RELEASE
16 October 2015
Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
113/2015
Red wine grape production increases

Red wine grape production increased 5 per cent across the 2015 vintage, to an estimated 844,000 tonnes, compared to 2012 estimates, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

“We estimate that there were 86,600 hectares of red wine grapes in 2015, accounting for 64 per cent of all wine grape vines in Australia,” said Katie Hutt from the ABS.

“The most popular variety of red wine grape produced in 2015 was Shiraz with 395,000 tonnes, accounting for 47 per cent of all red wine grape production.”

White wine grape production decreased by 2 per cent to an estimated 764,000 tonnes when compared to 2012 estimates.

“Chardonnay continues to be the top white wine grape variety produced in Australia with an estimated 341,000 tonnes produced in 2015. The second largest white wine grape variety produced was Sauvignon Blanc with an estimated 84,000 tonnes.”

South Australia produced the most amount of wine grapes (739,324 tonnes), followed by New South Wales (495,789 tonnes).

An estimated 440,000 megalitres of water was used to irrigate vineyards across the country. This represents an 18 per cent increase from the 2012 estimates. The increase is attributed to dry conditions experienced in many regions.

“South Australian vineyards accounted for 46 per cent of the total water used on vineyards nationally with 32 per cent of total water used in New South Wales.

These results are part of the publication Vineyards Australia, 2015 (cat. no. 1329.0.55.002), which provides estimates from the Vineyards Census. This includes information at national and state levels as well as Geographical Indication (GI) regions on areas of vines (including: areas bearing, not yet bearing and those removed or grafted), production of grapes and water used) for agricultural businesses producing wine grapes.

The publication is available for free download from the ABS website www.abs.gov.au.

Media note:

  • Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
  • Media requests and interviews - contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070.