131. Australian Wine History: The Convicts Who Planted Australia's First Vines and the Wine Nerd Who Laid the Foundations

Episode 131: Australian Wine History: The Convicts Who Planted Australia's First Vines and the Wine Nerd Who Laid the Foundations Host: Joanne Close

Episode Length: 10:28

Release Date: September 29, 2026

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Episode Description This episode kicks off a new series on Australian wine, and Joanne starts at the very beginning. To really understand why Australia grows the grapes it does and makes the styles it makes, you need to know how vines got there in the first place. That story starts in 1788 with the First Fleet, a group of 11 ships carrying convicts, sailors, administrators and their families from England to establish a new settlement.

Joanne explains why grapevines were packed alongside food crops and livestock, how the fleet collected vines on stops in Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope, and why those first plantings around Sydney Cove mostly failed. Then she introduces James Busby, who she calls Australia's first wine nerd. His trip through France and Spain brought back thousands of cuttings, including Semillon and Syrah taken straight from the northern Rhône, and helped turn the Hunter Valley into a serious wine region.

Along the way, Joanne also looks at why many wine educators are moving away from the terms Old World and New World, and why Australian wine history makes that case so clearly. If you are studying for WSET Level 2 or Level 3, this history gives you a framework that makes Australian regions and grapes much easier to remember.

What You'll Learn in This Episode Why "Old World" and "New World" Are Being Phased Out How these terms have traditionally been used in wine education Why organizations like the Court of Master Sommeliers have dropped them, citing historical accuracy, cultural bias and blurring stylistic differences How Australia's history challenges the idea of a "new" wine country The First Fleet and Australia's First Vines Why England sent convicts to Australia after the American colon