Wine Australia is calling for volunteers to participate in designing the National Vineyard Register. For the ‘discovery phase’ of the register build, we are looking for volunteers from the wine sector to inform the design, functionality and outputs. The same people may also assist in testing features down the track.

Commitment

An estimated 6-8 hours early in the New Year to participate in 1–2 design workshops to assist in the development of use cases and user types for the register, and brainstorm and provide feedback on possible features that may be included.

Who we are looking for

We are looking for 4 – 6 people who will be the primary users of the register (grapegrowers – including independent grapegrowers and winery-owned vineyards, vineyard managers, viticulturists, regional association representatives) and are enthusiastic about the potential for the National Vineyard Register to deliver direct benefits to users as well as providing national and regional supply-side data for forecasting.

If you would like to participate

Please send an email to sandy.hathaway@wineaustralia.com by 30 November:

• confirming your availability
• briefly describing the reasons for your interest in participating in the co-design workshops
• identifying one feature or function you would include on the register, and why
• outlining your current role, experience and background relevant to grapegrowing and collecting and using vineyard data

For further information, contact Sandy Hathaway. 

The National Vineyard Register (NVR) is a planned register or database of all grapevine plantings in Australia. The National Vineyard Register is intended to provide data on bearing and non-bearing vines, vine age profiles, grape varieties, and geographical locations.

It will be a comprehensive, accurate and timely picture of Australia’s vineyard plantings. It is set to become an important resource for the Australian grape and wine sector that will assist in balancing supply and demand and supporting industry initiatives.

We are designing the National Vineyard Register with industry to securely collect and store planting data at the individual vineyard level. Co-designing the Register will also help provide robust, data-driven insights that growers, wine businesses and the wider sector can be confident in using.

The core data will include vineyard variety, area, location and age, planting changes and ownership.

Options will also be considered for collecting additional information that could further benefit the sector.

The sector lacks detailed, accurate and up-to-date national information on vineyard plantings. Previous attempts to collate data have had limited success, largely due to lack of participation from a majority of growers. The NVR aims to fill this gap by providing a complete, accurate, up-to-date and reliable data source.

The grape and wine sector needs these insights to guide growers and winemakers in making informed planting decisions and help them to better meet market needs and help balance supply and demand. The data collected may also support other industry priorities including biosecurity, sustainability, compliance with legislated requirements, adoption of agricultural technology, bushfire response, land management, climate change adaptation and other growth strategies for the sector.

We have had discussions with Vinehealth Australia to determine the best way for South Australian growers’ data to be incorporated into the National Vineyard Register. We are working to minimise duplication and deliver maximum value for South Australian grapegrowers and the broader Australian grape and wine industry. 

We are also continuing explore opportunities to add value for industry through leverage, alignment and collaboration with other aligned services, including the Australian Agricultural Data Exchange, the Australia Tree Crop Map and the Wine Australia Label Integrity Program.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry is funding this project as part of its $3.5 million Grape and Wine Sector Long-term Viability Support Package to support the Australian grape and wine sector to reach long term sustainability through new initiatives to assist growers and producers.

A framework for the NVR is expected by June 2025, with full implementation by June 2026, subject to the framework being feasible, including the investment required and likely completion times for legislative amendments (if required).

The project started in mid-2024 with an extensive consultation process to collect the views of industry on what data the register should collect, how it should be collected and how it should be managed and funded in the long term.

Incorporating the feedback from industry, a detailed framework was submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (who are providing funding for the National Vineyard Register) at the end of August. This framework outlined the data model, functional and non-functional requirements, estimated costs for building and maintaining the register, and a strategy for the collection of data.

A Request for Proposal to build the National Vineyard Register is due to be released in late October 2025. Volunteers from the sector are also being sought to provide input into the design of the platform. 

We are designing the National Vineyard Register with industry to securely collect and store planting data at the individual vineyard level. Co-designing the Register will also help provide robust, data-driven insights that growers, wine businesses and the wider sector can be confident in using.

At the start of the National Vineyard Register project, we consulted to obtain your views on how the data should be collected, stored and managed. Feedback was invited from stakeholders in the grape and wine sector, including growers, wine producers, industry associations, agribusinesses and partnering organisations. The closing date for submissions was 13 December 2024 with the feedback helping to form the National Vineyard Register Framework. 

Once a vendor for the National Vineyard Register build has been engaged, we will be seeking volunteers from the wine sector to provide input into the design of the platform. These volunteers may also participate in testing features as the project develops.

If you have any questions about the consultation, or still wish to share your views, please contact market.insights@wineaustralia.com.