More than 100 years ago it was claimed that “Many of the leading wine merchants of London and other important commercial centres admit that Australia promises to become a powerful rival in the world’s markets with the old-established vineyards of Europe” (Irvine 1892, p. 6). The first Yearbook of Australia made a similar claim in 1908, but by the 1922 edition it added some comments on why that had not happened: “The production of wine in Australia has not increased as rapidly as the

suitability of soil and climate would appear to warrant. The cause of this is probably twofold … Australians are not a wine-drinking people and consequently do not provide a local market for the product, and … the new and comparatively unknown wines of Australia find it difficult to establish a footing in the markets of the old world, owing to the competition of well-known brands. Active steps are being taken in various ways to bring the Australian wines under notice, and it may be confidently expected that when their qualities are duly recognised the wine production of this country will exhibit a

rapid development.” Why did it take 100 years to fulfil the promise seen for Australia’s wine industry in the late 19th century, and how much longer will it take for our olive industry to do likewise? With

these questions in mind, this paper first notes the similarities and differences between Australia’s wine and olive industries. It then summarizes the four previous boom/bust cycles in the wine industry, examines the extent to which the current boom is different, and then highlights the steps the wine industry is taking to sustain its recent growth. With that as background, the paper finishes by drawing lessons from that case study for the rapidly expanding Australian olive industry.

 

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