UK primed to discover ‘new face of Australian wine’

Wine Australia’s trio of Australia Day annual tastings have been hailed a success by the drinks trade, with events in London, Dublin and Edinburgh showcasing the country’s evolution of new styles and increasing diversity.

Held on 26 January, the organisation’s London tasting achieved record attendance with 1,230 guests and featured more than 1,000 wines from more than 240 brands across 80 tables of exhibitors. Describing interest as “sky high” at each event, Simon Thorpe MW, managing director of Negociants UK, called on the Australian wine industry to “take advantage of these good noises”.

“Australian wine has been on an upward curve for some time now, but trend is all about momentum, and if the momentum turns with us then we will be hard to stop. We still have work to do translating positivity into commercial success at higher price points, but there’s no doubting we are heading in the right direction.”

Speaking at a media briefing ahead of the London tasting last week Rob Harrison, general manager for Accolade in the UK and Ireland, said that while Australia as a category was in growth, lack of growth at more premium price points in the UK meant it was not ”fit for the future”. In 2015 UK sales increased 0.2% to $376 million, however crucially this growth has been almost exclusively at the lower end of the market, raising concerns over the market’s long-term health. Overall, Australian exports increased by 14% in value to AU$2.1 billion in 2015, its highest value increase since October 2007, with growth achieved in all of its top 15 markets for the first time.

Despite an underlying need to address its price positioning, at least in the UK, Jo Ahearne MW, who attended the London event shared her belief that the market is now primed to discover the new face of Australian wine.

“The exciting thing is that there is no such thing as ‘one Australia’”, she said. “There’s all the regions and people can start exploring that now – I think people are ready.”

Meanwhile restaurateur Xavier Rousset MS said changes to acidity, drinkability, oak aging and purity of fruit were among the trends helping Australian wine to become “better and better to drink at the table.”

Rousset was just one of the participants in Wine Australia’s “Great Aussie Taste-Off”, a new feature that saw three pairs of MWs and MSs battle it out for the best Australian wine match to dishes created by Michelin-starred chef Roger Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn. The crown ultimately went to the MSs winning two of the three rounds.

Wine Australia then showcased more than 250 wines at its Australia Day Tasting in both Dublin and, for the first time in seven years, Edinburgh. Both events were well attended and featured trade master classes on the history and evolution of Australian wine, while Dublin included an inaugural consumer tasting in the evening.

The Irish Times’ wine correspondent John Wilson said Australian wine had “been through a difficult period in Ireland in the last four or five years”, but was now making a comeback.

“I think it’s a combination of currency and style but I think Australia has risen to the challenge and is actually primed to do very well in the next four or five years,’ he said.

Concluding, Laura Jewell MW, Wine Australia’s regional director for the UK and Europe, said the positive responses to its events marked a “new chapter” for Australian wine in the UK and Irish markets.

“These were our most successful Australia Day Tastings ever and the feedback from exhibitors and guests attests to a renewed enthusiasm for Australian wine that we will continue to champion”, she said. “We attracted more winemakers in market than we have previously to help tell our stories of people, place and provenance and we now need to ensure that we build on what has been a very positive start to the year.”