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A wine agreement concluded with the EC wilt see the gradual phasing out of all names such as 'chablis", "champagne", "burgundy" and "claret" on domestic wine labels (they have long since disappeared from export labels).
In their place the major wine producers will continue to develop brand names such as Orlando's Jacobs Creek, Mildara's Jamiesons Run, Penfolds' Grange Hermitage and Koonunga Hill, and Lindemans' Bin 65 Chardonnay. For these brands, region and variety are of little or no importance (except, of course, such talismans as Chardonnay). The reason is one of pragmatism: the four largest companies - Penfolds, BRL Hardy, Orlando and Mildara Blass -make 80% of Australia's wine, and to achieve such volumes they have long relied upon blending varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, for example) and wines from regions as disparate as the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and Coonawarra and the Clare Valley in South Australia.
Small wineries focus on grape variety and region, and of course their name. While all leading small companies -commonly called boutique wineries -have estate vineyards, many supplement their own grapes, usually from the region in which the winery is located.
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