Top Australian winemakers just finished touring China this week to inaugurate an AU$2m per year campaign there.
The new campaign is called A+ Australian Wine and has been developed by Wine Australia, the government-based wine body.
‘Just being “good” and saying “Australia” on the label is no longer enough to tell the true story of Australian wine,’ the campaign literature says.
‘We selected ten winemakers who make some of the best wines in Australia, have distribution in China and could represent a number of regions from across our diverse country with stories about the place they are from and the history of their wines and wineries,’ said Lucy Anderson, Wine Australia’s director of marketing and communications.
Although A+ Australian Wine is a global marketing initiative, which will pay for education programmes and marketing activities worldwide, initial launch activities in China aim to increase wine sales in that vast country.
Australia is second only to France in terms of its imports to China, with 20% market share of imported wine by volume and 21% by value.
‘We anticipate continued growth of exports to China and see a 30% market share by value as a realistic target over the next 5 years,’ Anderson told decanter.com.
A+ Australian Wine’s one week roadshow started in Shanghai at the world expo on Wednesday (30 June) and continued with tasting events in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
‘It’s time the world took another look at Australian wine,’ said Tom Carson from Mornington Peninsula’s Yabby Lake.
‘The chance to travel around China with a group of great winemakers all standing behind a new and unified message is groundbreaking stuff and a fantastic opportunity to show just what makes our wines so compelling.’
Winemakers and wineries launching A+ Australian Wine in China are:
• Nigel Blieschke, Peter Lehmann, Barossa Valley;
• Tom Carson, Yabby Lake, Mornington Peninsula
• PJ Charteris, Brokenwood, Hunter
• Bill Hardy, Hardy’s Oomoo, Adelaide Hills
• Sue Hodder, Wynns, Coonawarra
• Willy Lunn, Yering Station, Yarra Valley
• Maria Lurighi, Domaine A, Tasmania
• Cliff Royle, Flametree, Margaret River
• Paul Smith, Wirra Wirra, McLaren Vale
• Wayne Stebhens, Katnook, Coonawarra
Written by Panos Kakaviatos
