In 2001 the Victorian Government provided $7.4 million to NMIT to establish the Australian College of Wine, announcing a new teaching facility with 12 hectares of vines in the Yarra Valley wine region and a new campus and 30 hectares (74 acres) vineyard and 10 hectares (25 acres) olive grove and olive processing facility at the former Aradale Mental Hospital site near Ararat, near the Pyrenees wine region. The College was established to provide in Victoria a world-class wine and hospitality training facility.
Some within the wine industry, such as the Yarra Valley Wine Growers Association, objected to the establishment of the Australian College of Wine, on the grounds that existing institutions: Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Adelaide University in South Australia and Swinburne University of Technology campus at Lilydale, produced enough graduates for the industry.
The NMIT Australian College of Wine campus at Aradale was officially opened by Education and Training Minister, Lynne Kosky in November 2002. The college accommodates up to 120 students, focusing on practical aspects of Wine Making, Marketing, Vineyard management and Food Processing (wine) subjects for its Certificate, Diploma and Bachelor degree courses.
NMIT has taught various courses associated with winemaking and viticulture at its Epping campus since 1993 which has a 100 tonne winery a470 hectares (1,161 acres) and a licence to market and sell wine. NMIT students planted vines in 1996 at the NMIT owned 470-hectare thoroughbred stud, Northern Lodge, at Eden Park 40 km north of Melbourne. The first vintage was bottled in 1998. The first Gold Medal, for a 2002 Shiraz, was awarded in 2003 at the prestigious Royal Adelaide Wine Show. Numerous wine show awards have since been won for wines produced by NMIT students with the Australian College of Wine.
In 2003 new wineries of 100-tonne at both Eden Park and Yarra Glen and 250-tonne at Aradale were constructed as part of the development of the Australian College of Wine. State and Regional Development Minister John Brumby announced that NMIT would run a $1 billion viticulture training project at Panzhihua University in China's south-west from 2004.
The college is a member of the Grampians Winemakers Association and is a major sponsor of the annual Grampians Gourmet Food and Wine Festival.
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