China’s thirst for Australian wine grows

Wine Australia toasted its producers’ continued success in China at its recent roadshow, which promoted “Brand Australia” to a wider range of potential Chinese buyers.

The roadshow followed ‘Australia Week’ in China and highlighted more than 300 Australian wines from 70 brands and across 30 wine regions including the Yarra Valley, Rutherglen, Mornington Peninsula, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills, Margaret River, Great Southern, Hunter Valley and Tasmania.

Wine Australia has invested heavily in promoting “Brand Australia” and its sixth roadshow visited Shanghai, Xiamen, Changsha and Qingdao targeting buyers, on-premise trade, the wine media and educators.

Rui Liao, a journalist from Wine in China, said” “Andrew Caillard’s masterclass gave us a very clear picture of the history and development of Australian wine. It took me on a virtual trip to Australia with the flagship and iconic wines we tasted.

“During the roadshow, I tasted not only established Australian wine brands that already have a very good reputation in China, but also lesser-known, boutique brands of equally high quality that broadened my perception of Australia.”

Ned Zhang, an A+ Australian Wine School educator from the Asia Wine Service and Education Centre (AWSEC) who attended the events in Shanghai and Xiamen, said: “The wines we tasted in the masterclass represent the very high quality of Australian wine, and the class delivered by Andrew Caillard gave me an even deeper understanding of fine Australian wine.”

Tang Yi, brand representative at Victoria winery, Brown Brothers, added: “I’m very happy with the results from participating in the roadshow. In Xiamen, we’ve seen at least five times more visitors than a previous event we exhibited at in this city.

“I’ve met many buyers who have expressed a strong interest in purchasing our wines.”

Thanks to the free trade agreement that came into effect last year, Australian wine exports to mainland China have jumped 64% and are currently valued at AUS$397 million (US$291.5 million), making China Australia’s second most valuable market.