1778 - Vines were introduced to Australia by captain Arthur Phillip, leaser of the group of convicts and settlers who compromised the first fleet of migrants to inhabit the new British colony.
Mid-nineteenth - A wave of European settlers were attracted by the gold rush and provided a boost to the young industry,.
1969- annual consumption per capita was 8.2 liters, compared to the 100 liters consumption in France and Italy.
The following 20 years- demand for fortified wines declined and vineyards were replanted with table wine varieties. Then, as consumers became more sophisticated, generic bulk wine sales were replaced by bottled varietals such as cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, etc.
Mid-1990 – domestic consumption stood 18.5 liters per capita.
By 1996, more than 1,000 wineries were establish in Australia. The largest accounted for 84% of the grape crush and 4 controlled over 75% of domestic branded sales. The number 2 company was BRL Hardy Ltd.
During the 1980s and 1990s changes in the global wine industry had a major impact on these emerging Australian companies. Large scale wine suppliers from New Worlds countries such as US, South America , South Africa and Australia were exploiting modern viticulture and more scientific wine-making practices to produce more consistent high-quality wine. These developments were occurring in an environment of rapidly growing demand from new consumers in nontraditional markets. Australian wines began to find large markets abroad. The Australian industry association saw four export markets as key. UK, US, Germany and Japan.
Company background and history
BRLH started with Thomas Hardy, a 23 yea-old English vineyard laborer who produced his first vintage in 1857 and by 1912 (the year he died) his company was considered Australia’s largest winemaker. In 1916, in the Riverland region northeast region of Adelaide, 130 Italian grape growers formed Australia’s first cooperative winery, naming it the