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 colonies rebelled
• The 11 ships that left Portsmouth on May 13, 1787, with around 750 convicts plus mariners, administrators and families
• Why the grapevine was considered essential for building a European-style agricultural society
• Vines picked up in Brazil and South Africa, likely including Chenin Blanc, Semillon and Muscat varieties
• The move from Botany Bay to Sydney Cove in Port Jackson, where the first vines were planted

Early Struggles

• Around 8,000 vines planted by 1791
• Why these early efforts largely failed without any viticultural expertise on board

James Busby: Australia's First Wine Nerd

• His background in Edinburgh and his family's move to New South Wales
• Studying wine in France and writing a book about wine at age 24
• Receiving land in the Hunter Valley and becoming the de facto wine expert
• His return trip to Europe and the thousands of cuttings he brought back from top vineyard sites in France and Spain
• Introducing Semillon to the Hunter Valley and Syrah (Shiraz) from the northern Rhône

Setting Up the Rest of the Series

• How vines spread from New South Wales into Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania
• A preview of how phylloxera changed the significance of Australia's vineyards

Episode Highlights and Quotes

"Europeans didn't merely wanna survive. They're attempting to establish a European agricultural society."

"Nobody knew what they were doing. I mean, there was no wine expert on this boat. There was no agricultural expert. They were convicts, administrators, and sailors."

"What we really need here is a wine nerd to the rescue, and that is exactly who shows up in the form of James Busby."

Australian Wine History Quick Reference

1787: 11 ships leave Portsmouth, England on May 13, stopping at Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope

1788: First vines planted at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson

1791: Around 8,000 vines reportedly planted in the area, most struggling to survive

1820s: Vines being planted in the Hunter Valley, with James Busby as a key early figure

Busby's European trip: Thousands of cuttings from France and Spain, including Semillon and northern Rhône Syrah

Mid 19th century: Vi