Traditionally, the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy have been the go-to tipples for Asian oenophiles. Of late, however, the palates of many mainlanders and Hongkongers have broadened enough to acknowledge the hitherto overlooked qualities of the fine wines from Down Under…
Indeed, it would be pure folly to eschew the diverse offerings of the country’s preeminent wine-producing regions like Barossa Valley, Goonawarra, Margaret River, McLaren Vale, Orange and Yarra Valley. Boasting both award-winning vineyards and bespoke boutique wineries, Australia has steadily carved out a niche in the ever-burgeoning wine industry.
Back in May this year, Australia reached another milestone, when its wines were selected to headline the 2018 Vinexpo Hong Kong, one of the most influential wine and spirits trade fairs in the Asia-Pacific region. Perhaps sensing their moment had come, representatives of 225 Australian wine brands exhibited at the event.
With the success of the sector obviously of national importance, Australia’s winemakers were accompanied on their journey by none other than Anne Ruston, Australian Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. Clearly delighted at the welcome accorded in Hong Kong, she said: “The prominence Australia has enjoyed as Country of Honour at Vinexpo Hong Kong has been outstanding. This is the biggest single event Wine Australia has ever participated in overseas and I trust our wine exhibitors and regions will do great business off the back of it.”
As wishes go, Ruston’s seems to have a pretty good chance of being fulfilled. At present, the mainland market is awash with Australian wines, with the figures for March showing a remarkable 51% YoY rise. While it would be nice to credit this solely to the growing international reputation of the Wollongong Riesling, the December 2015 signing of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement may, admittedly, have also played a part…
Facts and figures aside, why is Australian wine suddenly so favoured by boozers from Beijing to Bazhong and back again? One possible explanation comes courtesy of renowned British wine writer Jancis Robinson, who says: “The Australian Wine Research Institute is one of the most admired centres of wine academia in the world and the graduates who use the results of its intensely industry-linked work are taught to have a healthy respect for science, technology and for what man can achieve when given a free hand.
“Australians revel in their lack of the sort of restrictions that dictate what a traditional European vine grower must grow and how he or she must do so. They can establish a vineyard anywhere they like, and indeed the current distribution of vineyards old and new suggests there are undiscovered pockets of suitable vineyard land all over the southern quarter of their vast country.”
It’s certainly true that Australian winemakers pride themselves on their innovation, having already embraced Virtual Reality as a means of boosting wine tourism, while also producing a range of low-alcohol-containing wines for midday consumption. Given that their French counterparts had a 12,000 year head-start on them (grapes didn’t reach Australia until 1788), the Australian wine industry’s can-do attitude is seeing them inch closer to the pole position than ever before.
Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay