Photo taken at a luncheon held at Wirra Wirra in McLaren Vale c.1900.

The Australian Ark is a mammoth new multi-volume set capturing the full backstory of wine growing and production in Australia. It captures the many twists and turns of Aussie wine, and its unique characters, since the beginning of European colonisation. Grapegrower & Winemaker asked author Andrew Caillard MW about how this massive undertaking came about.

What is The Australian Ark?

The Australian Ark – a history of Australian Wine 1788 onwards – is a three volume, 1400 page, 350,000 word, fully-illustrated book that covers first settlement right through to the current day. It documents not only key individuals, wineries and events but also the deeper stories behind them.

The Australian Ark is more than a simple historical text. The work brings in social and political context as well as highlighting the imagination, strength and foresight of Australia’s fine wine pioneers. The 3rd volume also tracks my time in Australia since 1982 where I have been privileged to observe and now document an exciting time in Australian wine history. Throughout my 40 years in Australia I have known many of the key players during their careers and seen the rise of our modern fine wine scene.

The Australian Ark is clearly an immense project that has taken many years. When and how did it start?

Back in 2006, I began working on a project to document Australia’s historic wines. It was in some respects an homage to Max Lake’s charming Classic Wines of Australia (1966), but also a vision to further the cause of Australian wine in the secondary ultra-fine wine market. I have always been interested in Australian wine history as John Reynell, an Australian ancestor of mine, planted one of the first vineyards in South Australia.

Work commitments got in the way after the acquisition of Langton’s, but I restarted the project in 2016 after working on Penfolds Rewards of Patience and Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine. At this stage I was not thinking of writing what has transpired, but digital libraries have opened up new avenues of research. These new online resources, particularly the National Library of Australia’s Trove, have completely changed what is available to researchers. As I dug deeper I found an incredible and romantic history that is largely unknown. The size of the book consequently expanded into something much larger than anticipated.

How can the industry/trade secure their copies of The Australian Ark?

This project is independently funded and published so we do not have the backing of a large publisher to carry significant volumes of stocks. On the other hand the quality will be so much better, as we are publishing it without compromise. So we are now selling The Australian Ark via a pre-sales campaign at australianark.com, which closes on 15th March. Trade discounts are currently available and we are taking a 20% deposit on all orders with invoicing for the remainder plus delivery later in the year. Our early timing for pre-sales is to guarantee production timelines and delivery in late 2023.

We think this is the key opportunity to purchase The Australian Ark with only limited volumes available from bookstores later in the year. The pre-sales campaign will also be the only opportunity to purchase a highly limited run of linen and leather bound Collector’s Editions of The Australian Ark, or bespoke tailored hard-back editions.

For the trade, The Australian Ark is available to purchase both in small numbers but also with larger volume options so that wineries, exporters, retailers as well as trade and regional organisations can gift or sell The Australian Ark to their databases and customers. Many observers have said that the industry and trade needs a book like this, so hopefully this translates to wide support from all sectors of the wine industry and trade.

Individual tailored editions with bespoke/ branded covers and slipcases are also available. We believe these personalised hard-back editions will offer the wine trade a unique opportunity to promote Australian wine, regions and brands. By supporting this project as pre-release buyers, the trade will help us achieve our goal of making a big difference to the awareness of Australian wine and its history at home and overseas.

Where does The Australian Ark currently stand?

We are close to the end at last! Most chapters are complete and edited but there are some minor revisions. The team has also collected a huge library of photographs and illustrations, commissioned maps and started on the design so everything is on track for publication in October and November this year. Geoffrey Robertson AO KC has also generously written a perfect forward to the book. I have great admiration for his work and I couldn’t think of anyone better for this task.

The Australian Ark is now available for pre-order with special trade prices so that the industry can share The Australian Ark and profit from it. The Australian Ark is now available to pre-purchase at australianark.com until March 15 with trade and wholesale discounts applicable.

The full interview with Andrew Caillard MW can be read in the March issue of Grapegrower & Winemaker. Click here to become a subscriber today!