What do Arinto, Assyrtiko and Aglianico have in common? They are grape varieties recently imported into Australia and are appearing more and more on Australian wine labels.
In Australia, the name used for a grape variety on a wine label must be recognised by at least one of the following three organisations
- International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV)
- International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, or
- International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.
The OIV, an intergovernmental body, of which Australia is a member through the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, publishes a comprehensive list of grape varieties and their official synonyms sorted by country. The Australian section of the list can be viewed here.
If you have brought, or are considering bringing, a variety to Australia that is not currently listed or would like the addition of a new synonym for a listed variety, here’s what you need to do:
- Contact Wine Australia and provide information in relation to evidence of plantings of that variety in Australia and DNA analysis against a known reference for that variety.
- For the addition of a new synonym, provide evidence that the name is a valid synonym for that variety. For example, listing by the OIV for a country other than Australia or a reference in an ampelography text such as Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson et al.
We will present this information to the Wine Industry Technical Advisory Committee for review and if no concerns or additional information is required, the documents will be submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment who will then amend the OIV list.
Documentation and queries can be submitted to Rachel Triggs at rachel.triggs@wineaustralia.com