China hosts aged wines and Barossa master classes

Some of Australia’s finest wines showed off their remarkable aging ability in a series of master classes held across China last week (20–24 February).

The Aged Wines master class was held in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. It featured wines from regions across the country with guests tasting the current vintage and a back vintage (at least 10 years old) to compare.

Wine Australia also partnered with Barossa Grape and Wine Association on a second master class in Beijing and Guangzhou. In Beijing, Barossa Rare and Distinguished Wines featured wines from the 2017 Barossa Wine Chapters Auction being held in April. In Guangzhou, Barossa Discovery showed guests some of the most exciting wines and wineries emerging from the region.

More than 400 of China’s most influential wine media, educators, sommeliers and trade participated in the master class series.

Guests said:

‘The aged Australian wines are not so frequently seen in the China market. This has been a rare chance to do an interesting comparison of the new and back vintage of the wines at the master class, which beautifully illustrated the ageing ability of Australian wine.’ James Dai, certified Australian wine educator

‘The wines at the Barossa master class not only showcased premium quality, but also reflected the characteristics of the place they come from. Very impressive!’ Li Meiyu, Founder of DrinkArts and Wine Director of Park Hyatt Beijing

Willa Yang, Wine Australia Head of Market, China, said, ‘This is the first time Wine Australia has hosted an aged wine master class in mainland China. We’ve already had highly positive feedback from many of our guests who said the master class was a great opportunity for them to learn of the aging ability of our finest wines.’

Fongyee Walker MW, who presented the aged wine master classes, said, ‘I was honoured to be invited by Wine Australia to lead the important discussion on the aging ability of Australian wines. Australian red and white wines both have the potential to age gracefully in a fascinating way. This class was a wonderful chance for the Chinese wine media and trade to explore these wines.’

James March, Barossa Grape & Wine Association CEO said, ‘Barossa is one of the most well-known Australian wine regions in China and many are already familiar with Barossa’s well-established wineries. Through the master classes in Beijing and Guangzhou, we introduced some of Barossa’s rare and distinguished wines, as well as some of the perhaps lesser-known but still world-class wineries. I hope there will be an even wider choice of high quality and diverse Barossa wines for the wine trade and consumers to discover and purchase in the future.’

China wine exports

China is Australia’s most valuable wine export market. In 2016, exports to mainland China grew by 40 per cent to a record $520 million. To put this in context, just a decade ago, Australian wine exports to China were valued at $27 million.

Contributing to the exceptional growth are the trade benefits of the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement and the growing Chinese middle class’ increased interest in wine, with average consumption frequency of imported wine and the number of imported wine drinkers both on the rise.

More than a third of Australian wine exports priced $10 and more per litre FOB were destined for China (valued at $215 million and up by 47 per cent).