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June 5, 1999
Web posted at: 8:07 a.m. EDT (1207 GMT)

From CNN International Correspondent May Lee

YARRA VALLEY, Australia (CNN) -- On the edge of the millennium, Australia's wine industry is gearing up to provide plenty of bubbly for the 2000 celebration

After all, the country down under is emerging as one of the world's leading producers of wine. There are some 1,000 wineries throughout the country, about 30 of them in the Yarra Valley just outside Melbourne.

In the valley's Green Point Vineyard, 120 acres are carefully cultivated to produce the wines of the Domaine Chandon. The winery was established in 1985 by one of France's leading champagne makers, Moët & Chandon.

For Moët, Australia provided the perfect conditions for producing quality products.

"Australia, of any New World country, we might say, has really in the past 10 to 15 years invested in wine quality here through vineyard planting, through wine-making techniques," said Chris Lynch, managing director at Domain Chandon. "(Vintners) have what I call an 'Australian attitude," which is, 'We can do it, we can produce excellent wines, and we want to show the world that we can do it.'"

To ensure quality, Domain Chandon's chief wine maker Wayne Donaldson and his team meticulously evaluate their product as well as the competition's.

"I think Australia is very unique, principly from its fruit source," said Donaldson. "The principles and the methods that we employ are the very traditional from our parent company in France. However, the real difference is in the fruit flavor and the sourcing of that material."

In 1998, Domaine Chandon produced about 660,000 bottles of sparkling wine, but '98 was just another year. The coming new year will call for more.

"We set in motion producing enough wine back in 1995-1996 actually to sell 60 to 70 percent more wine this year than we did last year," Lynch said.

Already the orders for sparkling wine are pouring in, mostly from retailers and restaurants. But Domaine Chandon expects the demand to skyrocket later this year as the public prepares to raise a glass to the year 2000.