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New South Wales is one of six states (and two territories) that make up the Federal Commonwealth of Australia. It covers roughly 312,000 square miles (810,000 square km) in the southeastern quarter of the "Island Continent" and, despite being one of the smaller Australian states, has been the most populous since the first European settlements of the 18th Century.

Although it is not home to Australia's most-famous wine names, New South Wales' viticulture has played an important part in antipodean wine history and its vineyard area is rapidly developing. In the 1970s, the state's wine production was one-third that of South Australia – the nation's most prolific wine-producing state – but that gap is closing fast. Despite South Australia's annual output nearly trebling in the past 30 years, New South Wales now produces only 15 percent less than its neighbor in every vintage.

The flag of New South Wales

The Hunter Valley, whose regional GI (Geographical Indication) is officially just "Hunter", is unquestionably New South Wales' best known and most-prized wine zone. It was here that the country's first Chardonnay (now its most popular white variety by far) was grown in the early 1970s. The Hunter Valley was also home to James Busby, the 'father' of winemaking in Australia and New Zealand, whose pre-phylloxera European vine cuttings were the ancestors of some of Australia's finest vines. (© Proprietary Content, Wine-Searcher.) The region's most-famous wine is arguably dry Hunter Semillon – a style unlike any other in the wine world – with its rich, stonefruit-scented Chardonnay close behind.

The Central Ranges, an area south-west of Hunter and west of Sydney, is one of the fastest-growing wine zones in the whole of Australia. Although it has been home to active viticulture and winemaking for more than 150 years, the total area under vines remained minimal until the later 1990s and the early years of this century. Cowra, Orange and Mudgee are all showing strong, steady growth and demonstrating that their elevated hillside terroirs are well suited to such varieties as Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and the increasingly well-received Viognier. Mudgee, where wine has been made since the 1850s, is of particular note. It has a similarly hot climate to Hunter but enjoys drier summers – and thus more-reliable harvest weather.

Southern New South Wales is a self-explanatory GI, covering the state's southern end where it meets the northern edge of Victoria. Among its points of interest are the elevated (over 1500ft/450m) vineyards of Hilltops and the cool climate viticulture of Tumbarumba. Here, modern Australian vignerons are experimenting with lighter wine styles – a far cry from the powerful Barossa Shiraz which first made a name for Australian wine in the 1990s.

Although administratively within the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), for vinous purposes the Canberra District has been considered part of New South Wales since the turn of the century. The first commercial vineyards were planted there in the early 1970s, and the district has developed a reputation for boutique wineries run by Canberra bureaucrats and academics.

The south-western quarter of New South Wales is dominated by the Big Rivers zone, named for the famous Murray and Darling rivers and the lesser-known Lachlan and Murrumbidgee ('Big Water' in the local Aboriginal language). Big Rivers produces around 75% of New South Wales' wine and is one of Australia's most-prolific wine zones. Riverina, in particular, is a reliable source of many millions of hectoliters of wine every vintage, most of which is from high-yielding vines and is destined for sale in bulk.

From the regionally expressive wines of the Hunter Valley to the mass-produced wines of highly irrigated lands to the south and west, New South Wales has an established place in Australia's wine industry, both past and present.