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Australia sets out on massive regionality education drive
February 4, 2008
Adam Lechmere
Australia is embarking on a massive information campaign to educate the UK public about regionality.
The Regional Heroes initiative initiative kicks off this month with a progamme of staff training across the on- and off-trade and importers, covering 15 Australian regions and 20 wines.
The plan – first set out in last year's Directions 2025 document – is to establish 'a credible claim for regionally distinct wines.'
The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation document says, 'it is indisputable that certain varieties flourish in certain regions, and Australia's challenge is promoting this to the rest of the world.'
The programme, called 'Regional Heroes', is based on the idea that a grape variety can be a 'trigger' to introduce the consumer to a region, Lucy Anderson of the AWBC said.
'Someone may like drinking Pinot but know nothing more. The marketing will tell them that Mornington Peninsula or Tasmania are the best places for that variety.'
To be selected for 'Regional Hero' status, a region has to satisfy a number of criteria, including a reputation for excellence of regional, varietal expression, third part endorsement, and peer group recognition.
The 15 regions selected include Barossa Valley, Margaret River, Eden Valley, Langhorne Creek, Coonawarra, Yarra Valley and McLaren Vale.
The programme will run across the UK until May. It has already started in Northern Ireland.
Have your say...
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 It's fantastic the AWBC is to educate wine lovers of the UK in Australian wine regionality. With 64 wine regions and 10 sub regions, selecting the 15 most well known regions is a great start. When those who are interested in real diversity are ready, take a look at the rest of the regions and discover wines of true excellence and, apparently, hidden qualities. Laurie Martin, Goulburn Valley Wine Association
Best of luck. But I think one of the strong points of the Australian wine machine was that it marketed it self as a country and not as separate wine regions like France and Spain. The general public knows Rioja as a brand and generally does not have a clue about any of the other wine regions in Spain. I think this could be a huge error on the part of the Aussies. Dominic Lombard
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