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DEMAND FOR AUSTRALIA DAY TASTING SEES NEW VENUE IN 2017 The UK is one of the most mature and influential wine markets, with far reaching effects across the world. With a full calendar of trade tastings, master classes and seminars, the Wine Australia team is able to tell the many stories of Australian wine to a wide and extremely knowledgeable audience. The biggest event in the year is the annual Australia Day Tasting. Held in London in January of each year, the trade-only tasting has now outgrown the elegant Lindley Halls, in Victoria, having over 1200 visitors in 2016 and a queue around the building to gain entry. A new venue, not previously used for a trade wine tasting, will enable us to expand both exhibitor and visitor numbers and allow us to present a new series of master classes in a much larger space in central London. These will focus on trade education with themed presentations from the regional bodies including McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills, as well as expanding on the ability of Semillon to age across the decades, which will be popular with the press and educators in particular. With room for more than 90 exhibitor tables in 2017, the Wine Australia team is looking to showcase a wider range of premium wines than before and to attract a broad audience of sommeliers, on-trade buyers, educators, retailers and independent specialists. The Australia Day Tasting has become one of the ‘must go to’ events, with importers and wineries reporting listings and strong commercial outcomes from the day. Smaller Australia Day tasting events will take place again in Edinburgh and Dublin at the end of January 2017 to take advantage of those winemakers who are able to make it over from Australia to show their wines and tell their stories. We are expanding our target audience in the UK wine trade, as evidenced by the attendees at the Artisans of Australian Wine tasting. As well as senior members of the UK wine trade, we had younger sommeliers, press and bloggers who were interested in the new wave, craft styles of wines that were being shown, and in talking to the 23 winemakers who attended the event. Held in a nightclub in Shoreditch, a decidedly hipster area of London, the tasting made a big impact and has led to discussions about which
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city in which country to host something similar. This was the first time Wine Australia has focussed on these styles of wine. FINE AUSTRALIAN WINE TAKES TO THE ROAD IN NORTH AMERICA The USA has the largest wine market in the world, with a retail value of US$40 billion. Australia is the third-largest exporter of wine by value – behind Italy and France – and while the challenges of selling Australian wine in the US remain significant, our Export Report September 2016 indicated that a broader recovery may be under way, with a decline in volume offset by an increase in value. Recently published articles on Australian wine in North America, along with research commissioned by Wine Australia, reflect that positive sentiment for our fine wines among trade and consumers is still on the rise. Now is the time to increase the awareness and availability of premium Australian wine in the USA. In 2017, we will host a range of events and activities that will support a longterm approach to re-establish confidence in the category, supported by significant, consistent investment to drive the Australian fine wine message. One of our largest and most farreaching campaigns of 2016 was our Savour Australia Roadshow, which took Australian fine wine across North America in a series of 20 events throughout April and May. The collaborative events – working with partners including G’day USA; the Australian Embassy and Consulates in
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Los Angeles, New York and Chicago; the Australian High Commission and Consulates in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver; and importers and agents of Australian fine wine – showcased more than 200 Australian wines from over 20 wine regions and demonstrated the innovation and diverse regionality of our fine wines. The Spring Roadshow will be back in 2017 and will engage wine trade, media and consumers in the USA and Canada in a series of events that will drive ongoing visibility, education and outreach fine Australian wine. The Roadshow events in both markets will be supported by a PR and social media campaign with additional, smaller, partner activities running concurrently to increase engagement. GRAND TASTINGS TO BE HELD ACROSS MAINLAND CHINA For the first time, mainland China is now the number one destination by value for Australian wine. Aided by the introduction of the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) in December 2015 and the growing interest of the Chinese middle class in wine, exports to mainland China grew by 51 per cent to $474 million in the year to the end of September 2016. To capitalise on the market opportunities that China presents, we have designed a program of activities for 2017 including online promotions, participation at trade shows, hosting the Wine Australia China Awards and our ▶ annual Roadshow.
A tasting held as part of this year’s North America Roadshow.
W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR N A L NO V EMBER/DEC EMBER 2016
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