Red wine, white wine, black wine!
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With the glut of wines jostling for attention on the shelves of the bottle shops, there are now several Australian producers trying to stand out from the crowd by using Aboriginal art themes on their labels. Only one, however, is the real thing: Murrin Bridge Wines. The labels, designed by local artist Lindsay Kirby, are no mere fashion accessory, for Murrin Bridge Wines is the only Aboriginal-owned winemaker in Australia.
On the face of it, Murrin Bridge is an unlikely location for a vineyard. On the edge of the arid outback plains of NSW, its land would be too dry for grapes without the proximity of the Lachlan river and the drip irrigation system installed along the rows of vines. Then there are the stereotypes about Aboriginals and alcohol, notwithstanding the well-established fact that fewer Indigenous Australians are regular consumers of alcohol than non-Indigenous Australians. 
Unlikely or not, Murrin Bridge Wines has become a success story through the quality of its final product: red and white wines made from hand-picked grapes which have soaked up all the sun which the Australian outback can throw at it.
Vineyard manager and community leader Craig Cromelin (right) stresses that "for Murrin Bridge to secure its own economic future we need to incorporate our culture. Because that is what we know best, and in the instance of Murrin Bridge Wines, we have done just that. The label represents the The People, The Land, The Culture with no gimmicks, no false pretences. This is who we are and what we are."
Cromelin continues: "In the domestic wine scene there are over 2000 wineries, so we are producers of a saturated over-supplied product. We are not trying to sell just another bottle of wine but rather an experience, an aboriginal cultural experience. And in the process we aim to create opportunities along the way that will give ordinary Australians and overseas tourists the chance to do just that through tourism and purchasing of community produced goods." For the people of Murrin Bridge, the production of their wines means more than just another Aboriginal art label on bottle shop shelves. It is an economic lifeline for the whole community as well as a source of pride: "Go ahead, enjoy the fruits of our labour"!