The National Vineyard Register Project reached an exciting milestone last month, with the release of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for suitable vendors to build the register.
How did we get here?
In 2023–24, through the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan, the Australian grape and wine sector identified the oversupply of red wine and red wine grapes as the single most urgent challenge. A need for a National Vineyard Register to provide insights into the national supply base, capturing key data on plantings to support better decision-making.
In March 2024, federal, state and territory agriculture ministers established the Viticulture and Wine Sector Working Group to develop a national approach to address the red wine oversupply and acute issues being faced by the sector, and support a return to balance and profitability. One of the Working Group’s six recommendations was to provide data and insights for better informed decision making. There were two actions related to that recommendation; one was to “establish a national vineyard register, including future forecasting based on nursery data” to be led by Wine Australia and the Australian Government.
This led to the establishment of the National Vineyard Register project, funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) as part of its Grape and Wine Sector Long-term Viability Support Package. DAFF appointed Wine Australia to deliver the project on its behalf, including building the National Vineyard Register platform.
The first major project activity was industry consultation commencing in November 2024, that sought feedback on the details of the National Vineyard Register, in particular:
- the benefits and features it should offer
- the data it should or could collect, and how that data should be collected
- how it might interact with other sector-wide programs and applications, and
- who should manage and fund the ongoing maintenance and operation of the register.
What was the feedback from the industry about the National Vineyard Register?
Feedback was received from the national peak bodies, all state associations and many of the regional associations as well as multiple individual stakeholders, including wineries, vineyards, contracting businesses and supplier organisations.
Responses ranged in opinion; from a few being concerned about extra work or unsure of the benefits through to some seeing this as an extremely significant and long overdue project with potential wide-reaching benefits to the sector.
Although not universal, consistent themes were:
- the primary output needs to be supply and demand information
- growers need to trust the process and see benefits
- don’t increase the compliance burden on growers
- focus on delivering the minimum viable product
- ensure the Register has the flexibility to be expanded in future
- adopt an iterative process to the roll out (i.e. don’t try to do it all at once)
- use options to gather existing data from regional associations and wineries, and
- work with Vinehealth Australia.
Formalising the requirements and identifying options
After completing the first-stage industry consultation, the project team developed an outline of the functional requirements that the Register needs to meet to fulfill its core purpose of collecting, storing and reporting planting information.
We also explored options for how the register could be built, what other features it could include to add value for growers, and how it could be managed. This process was informed by a market scan in Australia and overseas of other registers, platforms and databases of viticulture or similar agricultural crops. Lessons learned from this exercise included:
- South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, New Zealand and Chile have national vineyard registers , putting them at an advantage over Australia in understanding their supply base.
- a clear governance framework is required, which prioritises privacy and data security to ensure grower confidence in how their data will be stored and used
- high quality digital tools that offer direct benefits, such as geospatial mapping applications, are important to add value for growers and make data provision easier, and
- regional groups can play a pivotal role in national data collection through their connections with their members.
The primary option considered for managing the National Vineyard Register was that Vinehealth Australia would take on the implementation and ongoing management, essentially extending their existing South Australian Vineyard Register to cover the other states. Wine Australia and Vinehealth Australia were in favour of this option in principle, as it would prevent duplication of data entry for South Australian growers, leverage the existing expertise of Vinehealth Australia and eliminate the need to build a separate platform.
Vinehealth Australia undertook a detailed feasibility study, in June 2025 with funding from the National Vineyard Register Project. Following this, Vinehealth Australia informed Wine Australia that after careful consideration of the independent business analysis of the costs and potential risks associated with the building and long-term maintenance of the Register, they did not think this option was achievable within the budget and timeframe constraints of the project. Discussions between Vinehealth Australia and Wine Australia are ongoing.
As a result of this decision, the project team moved to developing a framework for building a new register that would incorporate the principles of:
- minimising reporting burden
- adding value for growers
- flexibility in data collection options
- optional benefits to cater to a range of needs and levels of interest
- future expandability to meet the sector’s needs into the future, and
- best practice data management principles for maximum efficiency, data privacy and security.
What will the National Vineyard Register look like?
The National Vineyard Register is essentially an asset register containing information about the location and variety composition of vineyards in Australia, and changes in these over time.
It is geospatial, so the sector has options to use it for other purposes, now or in the future, such as proximity threat alerts, analysis of vineyard performance in relation to other spatial information (e.g. weather, soil type, elevation) and confirmation of GI claims.
It is a fully digital database based on a flexible data model, so the register has the potential to streamline reporting and data entry by linking to other systems through common identifiers. This aligns with another priority identified by the sector in the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan: to integrate state-of-the-art technologies, digital methodologies and data-driven approaches to improve efficiency, quality, profitability, competitiveness and connectivity.
The details of the design and functionality will be worked out during the build process – depending on feedback from future users in design workshops and any cost or other constraints.
What will the National Vineyard Register cost?
The cost to build the National Vineyard Register will be determined once a vendor selected. The chosen solution will need to be well within the total funding provided by DAFF for this project.
The ongoing cost of maintaining the Register will include the following components:
- grower and grower association recruitment, communication and support
- potential purchase of South Australian data from Vinehealth Australia
- database administration – including geospatial aspects
- reporting, visualisation and analysis of data
- ongoing software, licensing and technical support costs, and
- updated vineyard scans (optional – up to 3-year rotation).
These costs will be funded through Wine Australia Research and Innovation budget, which comprises sector levies that are matched by the Australian Government.
What happens next?
Once the responses to the Request for Proposal have been evaluated and a preferred vendor selected, we will commence the build process (at the beginning of 2026). To assist in the development of the final design, we are looking for volunteers from the wine sector to inform the features, functionality and outputs, and to assist with testing the system down the track. Applications for this group close 30 November.
Once the platform is built, we will be able to start populating it with data, demonstrating the benefits for growers and reporting on the data. Building support to the point where we have an accurate and up-to-date picture of the plantings in Australia is expected to take at least two years.
Be inspired – get behind the National Vineyard Register!
The National Vineyard Register has the potential to be a game-changer for the Australian wine sector. With the support of growers, it can provide an accurate, digital foundation dataset of our vineyard locations and plantings by variety, which can then be used for numerous benefits both directly to each vineyard owner and to the broader sector, in terms of increasing productivity, consumer acceptance, access to markets, efficiency and international competitiveness.
As one of the respondents to the consultation process wrote:
“A National Vineyard Registry is essential for the future of our industry. As the saying goes, ‘You can’t act on what you can’t measure.’ For an industry of our maturity, this tool should have been in place long ago – it might have even helped us avoid the critical challenges we face today. Beyond its immediate purpose, an NVR has the potential to deliver numerous unforeseen benefits that will strengthen the industry in ways we have yet to imagine. The need for an NVR is urgent and clear. This initiative is for the collective good of the entire industry, and adopting it reflects the clarity of thought and collaboration required to secure a sustainable and prosperous future. Now is the time to act.”
What do you think?
If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions to pass on to the build team, please email communications@wineaustralia.com or contact the Project Manager, Sandy Hathaway directly, at sandy.hathaway@wineaustralia.com.