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Australian wine excites at Australia Day Tasting, London

Australian wine was celebrated at this week’s Australia Day Tasting (ADT) in London, Wine Australia’s largest trade tasting internationally.

The tasting in London on Tuesday 23 January showcased nearly 1100 wines from 41 different regions. Over 1000 visitors attended from across the United Kingdom (UK) and European wine trade, including buyers from multiple retailers and independent specialists, sommeliers, journalists and educators.

Thirty-eight winemakers and winery owners flew over to pour their wines and meet the trade – Andrew Hardy (Petaluma), Scott McWilliam (McWilliams), Jeremy Dineen (Josef Chromy), Martin Spedding (Ten Minutes by Tractor), Robyn Pfeiffer (Pfeiffer Wines), Toby Porter (d’Arenberg), Christian Dal Zotto (Dal Zotto) and Mary Dickinson (Dickinson Estate) amongst others. Also attending from Australia was Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark who launched the ‘State of the Sector’ report.

Clark reported that in the 12 months ending December 2017, Australian wine exports globally increased by 15 per cent to A$2.56 billion, the highest growth rate since 2004.

Guests tried the latest vintages of wines from iconic brands such as Penfolds, Torbreck and Yalumba and made new discoveries like Dickinson Estate, Eccentric Wines and MÉRITE that are seeking distribution. Of the 243 wineries featured, 18 producers are not yet in market in the UK.

Visitors also participated in master classes – Margaret River presented by Sarah Ahmed and McLaren Vale presented by Richard Hemming MW – and joined a seminar on rotundone in Shiraz led by Con Simos from The Australian Wine Research Institute.

The quantity and variety of wines at ADT points to the growing interest and demand for Australian premium wines in the UK. It also echoes the findings of Wine Australia’s latest Export Report, released on 23 January, which shows that exports to the UK at A$20/L and above increased by 4.5 per cent to A$8.8 million. UK off-trade sales figures are also positive: Australia is still number one in the off-trade and value is growing; it was up 2 per cent in the 12 months to November 2017 (IRI report).

Ahead of the ADT in London, Wine Australia launched a new State of the Sector report which takes a novel approach by drawing on parallels between Australian wine and Australian music.

Clark said, “Both Australian wine and Australian music are unique expressions of a diverse Australian culture and landscape. Both are distinctly Australian while also universal. This new State of the Sector report explores the shared history of wine and music in Australia, their evolution and global appeal.”

 

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