Wine Australia has appointed Map of Ag Australia to develop the digital platform for the National Vineyard Register, a nationwide resource aimed at supporting supply and demand balance and broader industry initiatives.
The National Vineyard Register will deliver a modern, map-based interface allowing winegrape growers to securely input planting information, while enabling the sector to access data-driven insights and trends at national, state and regional levels.
The project is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry as part of the Grape and Wine Sector Long-term Viability Support Package. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins said the investment underscores the Federal Government’s support for the sector.
“Australia has the best winegrapes, grapegrowers and winemakers in the world. We know recent years have been challenging, that’s why our government is investing in practical, long-term solutions to support the sector’s future. The National Vineyard Register will deliver data-driven insights to give industry the tools and information to support a resilient and sustainable grape and wine sector,” Minister Collins said.
Map of Ag Australia specialises in agricultural data connectivity, analytics and geospatial technology, with experience across horticulture, viticulture, dairy, arable and livestock sectors. The company has delivered large-scale, geospatially enabled platforms and bespoke software solutions across multiple agricultural industries.
Wine Australia CEO Martin Cole said the organisation received a number of strong proposals, but Map of Ag Australia stood out for its alignment with the platform’s technical and industry requirements.
“The National Vineyard Register is an important platform that will provide meaningful insights for growers and the sector at a really critical time. The need for better data on which varieties are grown by region was identified as a key priority under the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan to help inform better decision making by wine businesses in the context of a persistent oversupply,” Dr Cole said.
“It has an ambitious timeline and the building of the digital platform is a vital component of the project. Andrew Cooke and the team at Map of Ag Australia impressed us with their depth of understanding of the importance of building solutions that are not only technically robust but also tailored to the specific and evolving needs of the grape and wine sector.”
Map of Ag Australia Chief Technology Officer Andrew Cooke said: “Our approach combines deep domain knowledge with a focus on usability, data integrity and security, ensuring that our clients receive platforms that empower users, facilitate industry collaboration and drive measurable outcomes.
“Through the National Vineyard Register, we’re looking forward to helping deliver a platform that will support growers to make informed decisions and track performance over time while increasing efficiency and building digital capability across the sector.”
The build will commence in early March with a discovery and design phase to refine functionality. A core group of volunteer growers will assist in shaping the platform, alongside consultation with stakeholder groups. The discovery phase is expected to conclude by the end of April, with the full build completed and the platform operational before the end of 2026.
The register is expected to allow flexible data entry options. In South Australia, Wine Australia is working towards a collaborative agreement with Vinehealth Australia to enable grapegrowers to provide planting data anonymously through Vinehealth Australia, streamlining data collection, reducing duplication and supporting a single source of truth on vineyard plantings.
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