Found this interesting article at:

http://www.greeenmachine.com/winespirits/

Thought some of you wine connoisseurs out there might appreciate it:

By Chris Burd

Australia's wine industry has boomed in the past ten years. Employers
have had to triple their staff numbers to cope with the demand for
Aussie wine. Considering the lower average national population of
Australia, compared to say the United States or even South Africa,
30,000 (2001) workers is pretty high.

One of the main reasons for the demand on this skillful industry is
that it has won an international reputation for quality and value.
Australian wines have won many highly sought after international awards
and labels and many innovative Australian winemakers are sought
internationally for their wine making expertise.

Wine regions throughout Australia have continually had high ratings
especially over the past four years. Most of these regions and
especially the East and South coasts (New South Wales and Victoria) are
averaging 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Second to the brilliant winemakers,
and a close second, is the great climates / weather that certain
regions have for cultivating vines.

Wine is very much a part of the Australian way of life, closely
associated with both business and leisure. Wine consumption is often
linked to the country's outdoor-oriented lifestyle as well as to the
cosmopolitan urban way of life of the bulk of the Australian
population.

Australia exports more wine than that that is sold domestically. Out of
a total of approximately 919 million litres bottled, 516.5 million
litres is exported. The largest export market has been the United
Kingdom and second has been the United States.

Researchers from the University College London have come up with a few
very interesting facts. They found that drinking alcohol (including
wine), even in small amounts, might be associated with higher cognitive
ability, especially for women. You would be silly not to have a drop
every night! I think Aussie are reasonably bright, it must be all the
great wine they produce.