Australian Wine Connect

What is Australian Wine Connect?

Australian Wine Connect is an always-on, 24/7 virtual showcase, bringing the global wine community together to experience and explore Australia’s thrilling wine scene. The interactive platform is a go-to resource for Australian wine. Featuring wineries from across 65 regions; connecting winemakers, buyers, importers, distributors, media, educators and more; and offering a diverse program of engaging events and experiences.

Australian Wine Connect brings a taste of Australia to wine communities across the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Asia. It allows international trade and media to network and meet producers, discover new wines, link up with distributors and enable sales conversations. It also offers ongoing live thought leadership sessions, tastings, and variety and regional explorations to showcase the people, places and processes that make Australian wine unique.

Why is Wine Australia running Australian Wine Connect?

Wine Australia’s global vision is to help Australian wine be enjoyed and respected globally and to build profitable, resilient and sustainable wine grape and wine businesses. Australian Wine Connect will help us to achieve this.

Australian Wine Connect will challenge and change perception, drive desire and increase demand for Australian wine among key buyers, trade and media, and encourage stronger engagement with the global wine community.

The key goal is to get the wine trade and media, that have had limited engagement with the Australian wine community due to the global pandemic, to buy more Australian wine by connecting with them through immersive and engaging experiences.

When will Australian Wine Connect run?

Australian Wine Connect went live on 31 March 2021 and it will run for twelve months until 31 March 2022. Trade are invited to start exploring this new way to do business here.

Who is the target audience of Australian Wine Connect?

Australian Wine Connect will bring the global wine community together to experience and explore Australia’s thrilling wine scene. The target audience is international trade and media with a focus on the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Asia. We will target importers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, the on-premise, wine educators, as well as trade and lifestyle media.

How will Australian wineries and exporters benefit from Australian Wine Connect?

Wine Australia’s role is to help our winemakers and brand owners to put their best foot forward to win a greater share of the global alcohol beverage budget. Australian Wine Connect will challenge and change perception, drive desire and increase demand for Australian wine among key buyers, trade and media, and encourage stronger engagement with the global wine community. 

By participating in Australian Wine Connect, Australian wineries and exporters will benefit from:

• A personalised virtual expo space to showcase their brand and products
• An ‘always-on’ interactive platform to connect and engage with international trade, from buyers and distributors, to media and educators
• The opportunity to increase brand awareness, generate new leads and drive sales
• Virtual events and collaboration tools to help stay up to date in the market

What is Wine Australia doing to promote Australian Wine Connect and to encourage trade to log in?

Wine Australia will be running a global marketing campaign, including paid global social media as well as PR outreach and potential media partnerships to drive traffic to Australian Wine Connect. We will also be targeting our global database and using our owned channels to attract trade to the platform, with a diverse program of events and experiences such as live tastings, panel discussions and education. Through global communications, always-on paid and organic social media, events and by using insights from the platform, we will ensure that trade continue to visit and use the platform over the twelve months. We are also working with other federal and state agencies to facilitate business opportunities for Australian wineries throughout the campaign.

How is Australian Wine Connect being funded?

Australian Wine Connect is supported by the Australian Government’s A$50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package. The virtual expo space, a key element of Australian Wine Connect, is a user-pay activity in which wineries and exporters can choose to register and participate. There will also be other user-pay opportunities throughout the course of the campaign.

Who can I contact at Wine Australia about Australian Wine Connect?

If you have any further queries, please contact the Wine Australia team on connect@wineaustralia.com.

To participate in Australian Wine Connect, what are the criteria for Australian wineries and exporters?

A Participation is open to all Australian wineries and Australian exporters. Exhibitors should be able to demonstrate that they are export-ready if required. If your winery is not yet export-ready, please note this on the registration form and Wine Australia will be in touch with you.

What is the cost of virtual expo space in Australian Wine Connect?

The cost to sign up for each virtual expo space is A$2,500 ex GST and the platform will be live for twelve months from 31 March 2021 – 31 March 2022. Unfortunately, pro-rata rates are not available if you sign up after the platform has launched. Wineries should make note of the Wine Export Grants for assistance with the cost of the virtual expo space.

When is the deadline to register for virtual expo space in order to go live on 31 March 2021?

Deadline to submit winery and wine information to have your virtual expo space live by 31 March was in March. The platform was live for exhibitors to preview on 31 March 2021. The official launch to international trade and media took part on 27 April 2021.

Wine Australia will endeavour to get any new sign-ups to Connect on the platform as quickly as possible to maximise your presence and we will advise on dates upon submission of your registration and payment.

Please note that your expo space/s will only be live on the platform for the remainder of those twelve months. Unfortunately, pro-rata rates are not available if you sign up at a later date.

Should my distributors around the world also register as an Australian Wine Connect exhibitor?

Australian Wine Connect virtual expo space is available to Australian wineries and exporters, it is not aimed at distributors with Australian wineries. We advise distributors to contact their wineries to ensure that they are aware of this opportunity and to encourage them to register. Distributors will certainly be invited to join the platform and participate in the program as guests.

My winery has completed the registration form, what are the next steps?

Shortly after you register for Connect, you will receive an email asking you to submit winery and wine information to be displayed in your expo space (information submission guidelines). This information was required by 5 March 2021 in order for your expo space to be built and live on 31 March 2021. Wine Australia will endeavour to get any new sign-ups to Connect on the platform as quickly as possible to maximise your presence and we will advise on dates upon submission of your registration and payment. The information required is similar to that requested for trade shows and events, however more detailed due to the platform’s comprehensive search facility, which enables visitors to sort and filter information according to their requirements. 

An invoice will be sent to the contact submitted on your registration form.

Wine Australia will share more details and updates throughout the campaign to keep you informed about the program and additional activities. If you or your colleagues would like to receive updates on Australian Wine Connect, please complete this sign-up form. 

What will the Australian Wine Connect expo space look like?

Australian Wine CONNECT is officially live and you are welcome to register and explore what existing winery expo spaces look like here.

CONNCET provides a virtual expo space for Australian wineries and exporters. It allows international trade and media to network and meet producers, discover new wines, link up with distributors and enable sales conversations.

Australian Wine Connect is a go-to resource for Australian wine – with business benefits. International trade will be able to explore and discover Australian wineries and wines quickly and easily through a searchable system. Visitors can search by region, variety, price point, style and more, they will be able to see which markets wines are distributed in as well as where wineries are seeking distribution. The features on the platform help visitors efficiently find producers and products that match their specific needs. However, if visitors don’t have a specific search in mind, the site will encourage them to explore through curated content, which could be on a wine region, a style or current trends.

What information and resources can my winery display in the expo space?

Your expo space will include details about your winery, marketing information, a chosen hero image and your logo. Wineries will be able to upload branded brochures or other publications, and there is an option to add a short video. Each of your wines featured (10 SKUs per winery max) will have a dedicated page with further details, a bottle shot and a short tasting note, and more detailed tasting notes can be uploaded as a PDF. Please see our helpful guide on winery and wine information submission for your expo space, which provides a clear outline of what will be displayed.

To view existing expo spaces on the platform, register for CONNECT here.

How can trade visitors interact with wineries on Australian Wine Connect?

Australian Wine Connect allows international trade and media to network and meet producers, discover new wines, link up with distributors and enable sales conversations. Firstly, visitors will be required to sign in to explore the wineries and wines on the platform. By using the search facility as well as browsing curated content, visitors will be able to find producers and products that match their specific needs. Visitors that are interested in learning more about a winery and the wines can contact you through clear call-to-action buttons on the site to start the conversation. The visitor will be prompted to answer a few questions, so you can ascertain their level of interest, their needs, the additional information they are seeking and, if they are ready, possible dates for a meeting. This connection will help you to engage further with international trade, generate new leads and drive sales.

 

As Australian Wine Connect is live for twelve months, can wineries and exporters change the 10 SKUs that they feature over this period?

Yes, wineries and exporters can change the 10 SKUs over the twelve months.

Will there be training on Australian Wine Connect and how to navigate the platform? Will there be time for wineries to test it out before it goes live?

The CONNECT platform is officially live, you can register to check it out here.

If you are a new exhibitor and would like training on how to navigate the platform, you're welcome to reach out to a member of our team at connect@wineaustralia.com.

Since the platform is now officially live, you will not be able to test it before it is live. However, we will let you know as soon as your profile is up and you will be able to make any changes through your dashboard, or by reaching out to us.

What are some examples of events within the twelve-month program?

We will be offering a diverse program of engaging events and experiences on Australian Wine Connect to help drive traffic to the platform over the twelve months. Every quarter, we’ll be hosting keynote panel discussions with global thought-leaders on the future of drinking.

On the first Tuesday of every month we will uncover the uniqueness of Australia’s climate, landscape and regional wines through the lens of a specific variety. Mark Davidson will host intimate and informative chats with the winemakers and viticulturalists who are challenging convention and blazing new trails in the search for quality, individuality and diversity. This variety focus will also be supported by localised virtual tastings in multiple cities around the globe.

The first of our CONNECT Conversations will be a virtual tasting and discussion putting Australia’s regional expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon into a global context. Trade are invited to register and view our CONNECT Conversations here.

Will there be other opportunities that I can sign up for as part of this campaign?

There are several new-to-market opportunities offered to CONNECT exhibitors to sign up to.

Registrations for the US Market Entry Program closed on 23 April 2021.

For wineries looking to enter Canada or the UK, we have the Explore programs as an additional service since you're signed up to Connect. Registrations for Explore Canada are now closed, however you can express interest for Explore UK now, which will run from September to October 2021.

Wine Australia have partnered with Food and Agribusiness Growth Centre, trading as Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL) to offer CONNECT exhibitors a series of virtual ‘Meet the Buyer’ events for several other key international markets over the next 12 months. Registration to partake in the combined event for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are now open. More markets will become available over the next 12 months.

 

How can I get my wines featured in Australian Wine Connect?

Wineries that register for a virtual expo space on the platform can feature up to 10 SKUs per expo space, and each will have a dedicated page with further details, a bottle shot and tasting notes. You can also upload more supporting material such as brochures.

How will wines be selected for activities such as tastings and webinars?

Wine Australia will determine wine selections in collaboration with speakers, winemakers and other key members of the wine trade. Preference will be given to wines featured on the Connect platform, but additional wines may be sourced if relevant for a particular theme or story.

How can I get my wines included in regional tastings?

There are a number of different sponsorship opportunities being presented to states and regions for regional tastings in local markets. Please reach out to your regional association if you would like more information on getting your wines featured. For in-market tastings, wines featured must have an importer and be available for sale in that particular market.

What is the Wine Export Grant and how can my winery apply?

Wine Australia is offering small and medium-sized Australian wine producers Wine Export Grants to support their promotional activities in international markets. Producers are invited to apply and claim up to 50% reimbursement of eligible expenses for participating in Australian Wine Connect. Expenses may include:

• Participation fee (the virtual expo space cost)
• Marketing collateral such as promotional videos, photographic assets or advertising copy
• Translation fees
• Costs associated with supplying free samples including freight or transport (up to A$5,000)

For more information and to apply, please visit https://wineaustralia.com/whats-happening/export-and-regional-wine-support-package/grants. If you have any questions about the Wine Export Grants, please contact grants@wineaustralia.com or (08) 8228 2000.