Australia’s phenomenal success in developing as a global wine exporter deserves more attention from the point of view of economic and competitiveness strategy. Its success embodies the expectations of the Triple Helix that there will be institutions explicitly oriented towards developing end extending industry-relevant research, and that industry targets will be coordinated with public, collective aims. Australia stretches this framework even further by showing it can work on a large scale, with multiple layers of coordination, without alienating smaller and local producers. It reinforces the findings of other successful cases in this special issue by demonstrating the importance of a common long-term strategy, the value of an industry levy that funds research, the underlying social capital that makes coordination possible, and the importance of specialisation and marketing. Nonetheless, Australia’s wine industry also faces serious challenges that suggest a further evolution of its Triple Helix institutions will be required for continued success.