Aussie wine takes centre stage

 Hot on the heels of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Wine Australia’s hosted international sommelier program, the spotlight on Australia’s dynamic food and wine scene will continue to shine in May with the launch of Aussie Wine Month. 

Now in its sixth year, the month-long celebration will champion legendary and cutting-edge wines that are defining Australia right now in a national program including masterclasses, workshops and tastings taking place across major cities and regional towns. 

Joo Lee, sommelier from the newly-crowned world’s best restaurant Eleven Madison Park in New York said, ‘The most exciting thing about Australian wine is that it’s blossoming, there are so many things going on and so much new stuff I didn’t imagine would be here’. Lee was one of 50 leading wine professionals who took part in the dedicated sommelier program running in tandem with The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in April, which strived to showcase the quality and verve of Australian wine. 

This May, Australia will play host to hundreds of events throughout the country, with highlights including a collaborative lunch by Melbourne’s Guy Grossi and Yering Station's Maxime Croiset on 20 May, and “Fresh Wine Disco” in the Adelaide Hills on 6 May led by low-intervention winemaker Taras Ochota (Ochota Barrels). Chef and media personality Dan Hong will host “Up Close & Personal” at Mr. Wong on 13 May, giving guests a rare insight into his career over yum cha and wine pairings by The Little Wine Company in the Hunter Valley. 

Australia is also gaining a lot of international attention for its talented young winemakers, Richard Hargreave, sommelier at momofuku in Las Vegas said, ‘It appears as if it’s the most dynamic wine making country in the world right now - I can't think of another country that is going through such rapid change.’ 

Throughout the month, select wine regions, restaurants, bars, retailers and distributors will also take part in the program to promote Australian wine. 

Andreas Clark, CEO of Wine Australia said, ‘Aussie Wine Month gives us the chance to put the spotlight on the incredible wine we’re producing in our own backyard. There’s no need to look anywhere else when we have such diversity and varying wine styles.’ 

On average, Australia crushes a mammoth 1.672 million tonnes of wine grapes per year spanning the country’s 65 wine regions. While chardonnay and shiraz remain top contenders for Australia’s favourite drop, Australia’s wine portfolio is continuing to evolve with budding interest in alternative varietals from Italy, Greece and Spain and further exploration of Old World techniques such as Jura-style flor-ageing and skin-fermented white wines. 

Aussie Wine Month offers grape-lovers an opportunity to discover Australia’s evolving viticulture and explore wines which reflect the provenance of the country’s diverse terroir. 

Aussie Wine Month will run nationwide from 1 – 31st May 2017.