Geographical Indications
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A Geographical Indication (GI) is an official description of an Australian wine zone, region or subregion. It takes the form of a textual description (i.e. a list of grid references, map co-ordinates, roads and natural landmarks which can be traced to outline the regional boundary) along with a map. Its main purpose is to protect the use of the regional name under international law, limiting its use to describe wines produced from winegrape fruit grown within that GI.
A Geographical Indication can be likened to the appellation naming system used in Europe (e.g. Bordeaux, Burgundy in France) but is much less restrictive in terms of viticultural and winemaking practices. In fact, the only restriction is that wine which carries the regional name must consist of a minimum of 85% of fruit from that region. This protects the integrity of the label and safeguards the consumer.
The use of Geographical Indications in Australia commenced in 1993 when the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Act (1980) was updated to enable Australia to fulfil its Agreements with the European Community on Trade in Wine and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The Act serves to ‘provide the legal means for interested parties to prevent use of a geographical indication identifying wines not originating in the place indicated by the GI in question’.
The hierarchy of GIs commences with a zone known as South Eastern Australia which is the area south east of a line from North Queensland to Ceduna in South Australia. States have been declared as GIs as well as 28 zones with contiguous boundaries within each state. About 65 regions have been identified; most have been entered in the Register of Protected Names, while others are still in the interim or proposal stage. A Geographical Indication does not have legal status under the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Act until it has been defined and entered onto the Register of Protected Names. For details on GIs, please refer to the Wine Australia website at www.wineaustralia.com.
State/Zones | Regions | Subregion |
---|---|---|
South Eastern Australia 1 | ||
South Australia | ||
Adelaide (Super Zone, includes Mount Lofty Ranges, Fleurieu and Barossa | ||
Barossa | Barossa Valley | |
Eden Valley | High Eden | |
Far North | Southern Flinders Ranges | |
Fleurieu | Currency Creek | |
Kangaroo Island | ||
Langhorne Creek | ||
McLaren Vale | ||
Southern Fleurieu | ||
Limestone Coast | Coonawarra | |
Mount Benson | ||
Mount Gambier | ||
Padthaway | ||
Robe | ||
Wrattonbully | ||
Lower Murray | Riverland | |
Mount Lofty Ranges | Adelaide Hills | Lenswood |
Piccadilly Valley | ||
Adelaide Plains | ||
Clare Valley | ||
The Peninsulas | ||
New South Wales | ||
Big Rivers | Murray Darling2 | |
Perricoota | ||
Riverina | ||
Swan Hill2 | ||
Central Ranges | Cowra | |
Mudgee | ||
Orange | ||
Hunter Valley | Hunter | Broke Fordwich |
Pokolbin | ||
Upper Hunter Valley | ||
Northern Rivers | Hastings River | |
Northern Slopes | New England Australia | |
South Coast | Shoalhaven Coast | |
Southern Highlands | ||
Southern New South Wales | Canberra District | |
Gundagai | ||
Hilltops | ||
Tumbarumba | ||
Western Plains | ||
Western Australia | ||
Central Western Australia | ||
Eastern Plains, Inland and North of Western Australia | ||
Greater Perth | Peel | |
Perth Hills | ||
Swan District | Swan Valley | |
South West Australia | Blackwood Valley | |
Geographe | ||
Great Southern | Albany | |
Denmark | ||
Frankland River | ||
Mount Barker | ||
Porongurup | ||
Manjimup | ||
Margaret River | ||
Pemberton | ||
West Australian South East Coastal | ||
Queensland | ||
Granite Belt | ||
South Burnett | ||
Victoria | ||
Central Victoria | Bendigo | |
Goulburn Valley | Nagambie Lakes | |
Heathcote | ||
Strathbogie Ranges | ||
Upper Goulburn | ||
Gippsland | ||
North East Victoria | Alpine Valleys | |
Beechworth | ||
Glenrowan | ||
King Valley | ||
Rutherglen | ||
North West Victoria | Murray Darling2 | |
Swan Hill2 | ||
Port Phillip | Geelong | |
Macedon Ranges | ||
Mornington Peninsula | ||
Sunbury | ||
Yarra Valley | ||
Western Victoria | Grampians | Great Western3 |
Henty | ||
Pyrenees | ||
Tasmania | ||
Northern Territory | ||
Australian Capital Territory | ||
1The zone South Eastern Australia incorporates the whole of NSW, VIC and TAS and only part of QLD and SA. | ||
2Murray Darling and Swan Hill are contained within the zones of Big Rivers (NSW) and North West Victoria (VIC). | ||
3The use of Great Western is subject to legally enforceable conditions of use. |