The old joke goes
‘what is the difference between Australian and yoghurt’
‘there is culture in yoghurt’
A bit like the old Irish gags which were equally as racist, they will die out and the wine area will have made a significant contribution to the sophisticisation of Australia.
Fifty years ago the idea that wine of any sort of elevated level came from Australia was laughable. One of the biggest importers of Australian, wines at the time, would have been Yates Wine Lodges, renowned in my northern home town for the pre-modern cocktail of Yates Blob (Yates sweet Australian wine, brandy, sugar lemon and hot water). It was as sophisticated as an Australian’s (or Boltonian’s) night out!
So how the tradition UK wine trade laughed on the other side of its face as Aussie wine became the toast of the British public during the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s rising to become the biggest supplier today to the UK off trade ahead of France with 23% by value and 24% of volume. Big is not necessarily clever though and in the early to mid naughties then it became apparent that the Aussie Wine industry could not compete in the volume area on price and began reforming its offer.
Vineyards sun themselves in the delightful climate of Margaret RiverSeveral producers pulled away from the UK complaining about the competitive supermarkets and the bottom feeding market. However it seems that Australian wines are reinventing themselves; veering away from the big brand ideas and reverting to more of the estate, carefully managed, high quality propostions.
And it seems to be working. Australia’s premium and super premium segments are driving value. In trading for bulk wine (that is containers of 10k litres or more) under $2.50 per litre declined by 8%; whereas wines above that price all increased especially the mid-range levels of $5-$19.99 per litre. These wines will be mostly bottled in the UK, so it is also interesting to note that Australian bottled sales increased by 3% to $163M or 44% of total wine trade. (stats from Wine Australia).
So the market is buying better quality Australian wines has 31% of the UK’s red wine market by volume. It is one of the only country to show year-on-year growth of the Top5 supplying countries.
Anyone visiting the annual Wine Australia tastings in January can see that there is plenty to buy. There are lots of Australian estates, producers who care passionately about their product and many new regions, or at least new to the UK. There are a number of emerging regions that have either been forgotten or are genuinely new in Victoria – Beechworth, Henty, New South Wales – Mudgee has re-emerged, a place I spent a week in prepartion for vintage back when Adam was a lad, Gundagai is new, as is Shoalhaven Coast.
One tip for the next 5 years – Western Australian wines will come to the fore. Why? Airlines are flying direct into Perth beginning this year, and where there is business then wine shortly follows. And there are some great wines from W.A.
Margaret River is probably the jewel in the crown, with a climate that most people would die for – never gets above 35 degrees and never gets below 12.
And such a beautiful area too.
So the relevance for Hospitality and Catering – get into Australian estates, find those nuggets as famous Aussie outlaw Ned Kelly was looking for. And look for different wines with different stories – there are plenty out there.
One pointer – only 1% of Australian vineyard is planted with so called new varieties such as Prosecco (yes it is a variety and an Italian region), Vermentino, Malbec and Tempranillo and a clutch full of others. One trend that is occurring in the London restaurant and bar trade is the desire of consumers to explore wine, almost fearlessly. No longer are consumers scared to try a new variety, so long as it tastes nice and they don’t have to risk their house on it. As is human disposition with market share so high, there is a temptation to think that the Aussies have made it.
Business is about value creation and all too little value has been created from the Aussie sector as historically it focussed on volume. Their next goal is to bring much more value to the sector in the UK, to romance us, dazzle us and encourage us with their enterprise and intriguing stories.
I have a sense that the Aussies are doing it already and from what I see and taste on the tasting tables it is happening, but it isn’t going to be as easy as just turning up. Those different varieties, flavours and stories are what we need, in turn, to make our market. However as they do so then the impression that they leave will be one of culture, a more cultured proposition in tune with the contemporary British market, especially as we move towards the BREXIT door and towards more deals with dare I say Aussies!
Better start thinking up some new jokes.
Alistair Morrell
Hospitality & Catering News, Wine & Drinks Editor