| National Wine Centre of Australia | |
|---|---|
 The National Wine Centre, Adelaide | |
 Interactive map of National Wine Centre of Australia | |
| General information | |
| Location | North Terrace,Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Coordinates | 34°55′10″S138°36′51″E / 34.91944°S 138.61417°E /-34.91944; 138.61417 |
| Opened | 6 October 2001 (2001-10-06) |
| Client | Government of South Australia |
| Landlord | University of Adelaide |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Philip Cox |
| Architecture firm | Cox Grieve Gillett |
| Website | |
| nationalwinecentre.com.au | |
TheNational Wine Centre of Australia (commonly the "Wine Centre") is a public exhibition building about winemaking and itsindustry in South Australia, opened in 2001.[1] It contains an interactive permanent exhibition ofwinemaking, introducing visitors to the technology, varieties and styles ofwine. It also has awine tasting area, giving visitors the opportunity to taste and compare wines from different areas of Australia.
The Wine Centre is situated at the eastern end ofNorth Terrace,Adelaide in the eastparklands and adjacent to theAdelaide Botanic Gardens. The building designed byCox Grieve Gillett uses building materials to reflect items used in making wine.[2] The exterior of the building looks like a section of a wine barrel. Outside the building are rows ofgrapevines, showing seven different varieties ofgrapes to curious visitors who normally would not have access to a vineyard to see the differences for themselves.
Its development by theOlsenLiberal State Government was shrouded in controversy and it was labelled as awhite elephant by theOpposition. It eventually opened on 6 October 2001 after enabling legislation created the concept in the National Wine Centre Act (1997). After a number of problems with funding, management and profitability, the Wine Centre operation was given to theUniversity of Adelaide on 12 September 2003 on a 40-year lease.[3] It now offers some of the university'soenology courses, as well as the public face of the wine industry in Australia.
