Drawing a Line in the Sand!
If you were looking to make an impression and to build some serious currency into an important new relationship, then perhaps the world’s most exclusive golf resort is not a bad place to be. Pebble Beach, California welcomed Wine Australia to its hallowed greens for the inaugural Court of Master Sommeliers National Conference on January 20 2010, and while the weather was biblical in its profile, the Wine Australia team was in equally storming form. A Landmark Australia masterclass of 18 Shiraz, led by guest presenter and winemaker Stephen Pannell, and moderated by Wine Australia’s own Mark Davidson, was presented to 72 master sommeliers with a view to challenging assumptions about the range, style and evolution of Australia’s signature variety. At stake was the reputation and credibility of the category’s most recognized wine style in the eyes of the world’s most assiduously informed gatekeepers – the official, professional coterie of sommeliers.

The masterclass comprised three chapters: an opening round of celebrated releases drawn from the decade of the 90s; a following flight of exemplary regional estates; and a closing round that questioned whether region or variety should be the dominant signature in Australian Shiraz’s best expressions. It would be fair to say that the expectation was to see an impressive but perhaps stylistically limited range of wines that were familiar rather than remarkable in their reach and ambition. What the Court discovered, however, under Pannell’s compelling narrative and challenging insight, was a range of stylistic excellence and diversity that was as unexpected as it was hitherto unexplored. Heathcote, Grampians and McLaren Vale all shone; the older wines dazzled with their apparent youth and delicacy, and a trinity of idiosyncratic stars from Clare, Canberra and Eden Valley threatened to steal the show. After two hours of examination and robust questioning of both the panel and the audience, the response was as emphatic: a unanimous and spontaneous standing ovation from the floor! 

Fred Dame, Chairman Emeritus, Court of Master Sommeliers and Director of Icon Estates, Constellation Wines US summed up the event as follows: ”You have achieved more in one day than any trade campaign has achieved in a decade. We are in the business of shaping the future of the wine and that is what you have successfully invested in today. No-one has reached deeper, harder or more thoughtfully than Wine Australia in making this happen. Congratulations!”

Paul Henry of Wine Australia commented: “This was a tough and searching audience, and one that is not going to do you any favours just because you have gone to the effort of presenting. What was fascinating was to see the dawning realisation that Australian Shiraz can actually be a signature and not a caricature, as it has been portrayed in some markets. I sincerely believe that we have turned a corner with regards to a better understanding and appreciation of our potential with Shiraz and Shiraz blends.”

For a full list of the wines presented at the masterclass click here.

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Gary V off the couch and heading Down Under
Since its debut on February 21, 2006, the social media phenomenon that is Gary Vaynerchuk and Wine Library TV has extended its reach to an ever increasing band of online wine enthusiasts that can number up to 90,000 viewers per episode.

These self-labelled Vayniacs will soon have a chance to tune into Gary V’s impression of Australia and its wines as he prepares to film Wine Library TV direct from Sydney in April this year. Wine Australia is preparing an exciting itinerary designed to capture the exciting and authentic spirit of the contemporary Australian wine scene.

Wine Library TV has rarely been filmed outside the US before, and gaining this sort of exposure has the potential to reach literally thousands of consumers.

Wine Australia is also offering Australian residents the chance to meet with Gary. To enter the competition, simply tweet @winehero with a question you’d like to ask Gary. The individual asking a question deemed to provoke the most useful response for the Australian wine community will have an opportunity to travel to Sydney and learn how to ‘Crush it!’ 

Competition closes Friday 19th March, 2010. Terms and Conditions apply.

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2010: Ask not what your category can do for you; but what you can do for your category…
Last year’s financial crisis has become known as the “Great Recession”, the year in which the global economy suffered its deepest slump since the Second World War. Twelve months ago, the panic sown by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers had pushed financial markets close to collapse. Global economic activity, from industrial production to foreign trade, was falling faster than at any time since the early 1930s. Unsurprisingly, big emerging economies accelerated first and fastest. China’s output, which stalled but never fell, was growing by an annualized rate of some 17% in the second quarter. By mid-year, the world’s big, rich economies (with the exception of Britain and Spain) had started to expand again.

So much for the good news. The reality is that today’s stability, however welcome, is worryingly fragile. Global demand is still dependent on government support, and consumer confidence remains dented because we have papered over old problems while also creating new sources of volatility.

What does 2010 have in store for the Australian wine community? No doubt, we will experience continued pressure on the consolidated export profile in terms of $/litre rates and the share of bulk to bottled wines, retailers will continue to splurge on a global diet of surplus wine, and the consumer will flit from offer to offer like a kid in a candy store. Unless…

…The whole Australian wine community unites under the Wine Australia strategy to reposition the category’s image, price and representation, and supports a brand message that has authenticity and ambition, i.e. demonstrates where we want to be, rather than just where we are at. We work together to create an on-line community of interested customers and consumers, involved in a dialogue about a brand experience rather than just a purchasing offer. We replace promotional dispensing with genuine wine education and engagement, utilizing Australia: world class as a means to showcase our leading producers and to create loyalty and sustainable demand; we invest in proactive relationships with third-parties (media; educators; private enterprise) which are then used to positively influence content and opinion around Australia’s place in the world of wine, and, in a reverse of the normal Pareto-principal (80:20 rule), Landmark Australia becomes the focus of the international, annual category tastings, thereby encouraging interest, excitement and a revisionist view of the whole country’s wine offering.

It would be hard, but not difficult. It only takes a unified and longer-term sense of purpose.

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Australia: Beyond Price and Prejudice
Visitors to the Saatchi Gallery in London’s Kings Road usually travel in expectation of a confronting piece of modern expressionism – such as Hirst’s infamous Shark In Formaldehyde. Yesterday’s crowds did not encounter a pickled apex predator, but they did find a room full of great whites…And rosés, and sparklings and reds…

Wine Australia’s Annual Trade Tasting attracted over 1000 attendees, and showcased a ‘trading floor’ of UK importers’ portfolios; an adapted Australian Wine Research Institute Advanced Wine Assessment Course (featuring Riesling and Shiraz); wine tasting seminars on the Barossa Old Vine Charter and Australia’s New Alternative Varietals; and a blind review of fifty top international Chardonnays, sourced from Australia, France, Italy, California, South Africa, New Zealand and Chile.

While the intention was to place the wine and the people as the stars of the show, it was indeed hard to upstage the contemporary and inspiring surroundings: Georgian exterior; breathtakingly simple Zen interior; beautifully-lit rooms; and the backdrop of a strikingly modern Indian exhibition entitled, The Empire Strikes Back (a curiously apposite title). This was all supported by the neat addition of a chill-out room serving Bento-box lunches, barista-crafted espressos and a welcome rest from the cut and thrust of the tasting galleries.

What it all added up to was an exciting sense of genuine engagement, and an encouragingly optimistic view of what Australia has to offer for the year ahead – beautiful 09 Rieslings; world-beating Chardonnays of a decidedly elegant frame and old vine-inspired treasures of Shiraz and Grenache to name but a few.

Paul Henry of Wine Australia commented: “It was a tremendous step forward in terms of trade tastings – a wonderful venue that reflected our desire to be seen as a dynamic and contemporary country; a full range of well-executed materials and content; exhibitors making determined efforts to engage with their customers, and most importantly, retailers, restaurateurs, educators and media looking beyond price and prejudice at what Australia has to offer. A bold start to a challenging year.”

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Celebrated Australian winemakers to deliver Landmark Australia message
A stellar line-up of presenters is set to inspire and impress the yet-to-be-named participants of this year’s Landmark Australia Tutorial.

Last year’s inaugural class consistently spoke of the extra insight they gained learning from so many knowledgeable and engaging winemakers, who all had established reputations for making outstanding wines within their nominated variety or theme.

Jeffrey Grosset and Tom Carson will again illuminate Riesling and Pinot Noir respectively with a fresh selection of wines, and this year the cast has expanded to draw on the expertise of Tim Kirk from Clonakilla and his intimate knowledge of Shiraz; as well as Steve Webber from DeBortoli and his take on Australia’s finest Chardonnay.

The talented industry stalwart Charlie Melton from Charles Melton Wines will give impressions of Grenache and "Great Australian Blends”, and celebrated regional winemaker Andrew Thomas from the Hunter will be on hand to help uncover the idiosyncrasies of Australian Semillon. The country’s fortified treasures will be revealed by Rutherglen’s own Colin Campbell and Stephen Chambers, and a masterclass on single sites and blending by the authoritative Brian Walsh from Yalumba, are just some of the highlights from an exceptional program showcasing Australia's best wines. 

The excitement will be building for all the applicants to this year’s Tutorial, with an announcement of the successful participants to be made at the end of this month.  

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Australian excellence celebrated in China
James Halliday first visited China in 2005 on a trip that was more culinary than wine in its focus. On his return trip back five years later, wine was at the top of his agenda as he joined the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation and Austrade in Beijing on January 26 to present the inaugural Wine Australia Awards at an exclusive masterclass for media, exploring exceptional fine wines nominated from five-star wineries in his 2010 Australian Wine Companion. He was also on hand to host an exclusive series of trade and VIP tastings held throughout Australia Day, which attracted over 600 invited guests.

Acknowledging how much the market has developed since his first visit, Mr Halliday shared some of his thoughts on the burgeoning market:
“China is an exciting country because of the rate of change. The statistics behind the growth to become our fourth largest market by volume and value are just staggering. Australian wine already has a platform in a country that was unthinkable five years ago. It’s an exceptionally good platform we have at such an early stage of development for the market.

"What strikes me particularly is the absolute desire for more education about wine among the trade and press. The knowledge infrastructure is one of the challenges of the market, and it will take time and sustained effort to keep improving. Building a platform of knowledge is critical in China and the activities that AWBC and Austrade are undertaking are very effective ways of spreading the word. The masterclass format is essential to this. Given the thirst for knowledge and respect Chinese people have for old farts like me to run educational programs, and by putting this message across via the Companion for education, I can’t see a better way to go.”

For more details on the Wine Australia Award winners click here. 

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February	Mornington Peninsula International Pinot Noir Celebration	Red Hill South, Australia
February	Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting	Frankland, Australia
February	2010 Taste Great Southern	Albany, Australia
February	Australian Regional Wine Immersion Program	Various, United States
3 February	Annual Trade Tasting – World Class	London, United Kingdom
5 February	Australia Wine Fair	Edinburgh, United Kingdom
8 – 9 February	Workshop on The World’s Wine Markets by 2030	Adelaide, Australia
12 – 14 February	Taste the Limestone Coast Festival	Naracoorte, Australia
13 – 27 February	WSET Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Wines & Spirits	Sydney, Australia
16 February	Australia: world class Themed Mini-Tasting Seminar	Tokyo, Japan
20 February	A Taste of Wine Australia	Newfoundland, Canada
23 – 24 February	International Cool Climate Wine Show 2010	Balnarring, Australia
25 February	Sexy Cool Consumer Tasting with iYellow	Toronto, Canada
27 February – 28 November	Cooking Class and wine tasting	Panton Hill, Australia
March - April	Wholefoods Market Australian wine promotion	Nationwide, United States
March	Tastes of Rutherglen	Rutherglen, Australia
March	Melbourne Food and Wine Festival	Melbourne, Australia
March	Australian Regional Wine Immersion Program	Various, United States
3 – 13 March	Wine & Spirits Magazine Sommelier winners in Australia	United States
5 March	Australian Wines and a Bento Box of Flavours	Tokyo, Japan
14 – 16 March	Fine Food and Hospitality Queensland	Brisbane, Australia
15 March	Regional Wine Immersion Session #6	Vancouver, Canada
17 – 21 March	South by South West	Austin, TX, United States
20 March	Taste the New Australia – Consumer Tasting with iYellow	Toronto, Canada
21 – 23 March	ProWein 2010	Düsseldorf, Germany
24 – 27 March	10th International Symposium on Innovations in Oenology	Bonn, Germany
24 – 27 March	9th International Symposium on Technology in Viticulture	Bonn, Germany
26 March	Australia: Catching the Next Wave	Vancouver, Canada

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