The Rules Under Australian Wine Are Open
Two government reviews close this month. Here they are side by side, with every paper you need.
Two government reviews are on right now. Both are about the rules under every bottle of Australian wine. They are separate. They close on different days. Most people do not know about them.
These rules were last opened in 2018. The next chance will be around 2038. If wine is your work, this is your chance to speak.
You do not need to be an expert. A few honest lines about what affects you is enough. Send each one to its own email.
The Wine Australia Regulations 2018 run out on 1 April 2028. Before then, an independent reviewer, Jason Duldig, is asking one thing: do these rules still work?
Australia has a new trade deal with Europe. It needs a new system to protect European food names. The question: should our wine region names, like Barossa or Adelaide Hills, move into that system (Option A), or stay in the Wine Australia Act (Option B)?
Export licences. The labelling rules for grape, vintage and region. How regions get their names. How the rules are enforced. Not research or marketing.
Only where region names are kept, and who looks after them. Not the trade deal itself.
Whatever is written in 2028 will last ten years.
Option A means fees and renewals for your region. Option B keeps the names with the wine industry's own committee.
Read the paper below. Write as much or as little as you like, as yourself or as a business. Email it to jason.duldig@dixonking.com.
Read the paper below. Answer the seven questions, or just the first one: which option, and why. Email it to winepolicy@aff.gov.au.
5pm ACST, Friday 25 September 2026. Adelaide time.
5pm AEST, Wednesday 30 September 2026. Sydney time.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 10 pages). Also on Wine Australia's website.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 7 pages). The Department asked for it to be passed on.
What I Said
Our rules say where a wine comes from. They say almost nothing about quality. I asked for a few things a producer can choose to be held to, like a real meaning for "Old Vine" on a label. It is all opt-in. And I said region names should stay where they are.
These ideas suit small producers like me. If you think I am wrong, say so in your own submission.
Why Bother
It has been a hard year. But rules get written by the people who show up. Twenty honest submissions would change what gets written.