Australia must raise wine value

Australia's wineries should secure their long-term future by targeting a gap in the US market for higher priced wines, a report has suggested.

The US may provide the best market potential for Australian wine in the longer term, a report by finance house Rabobank said on Friday (15 August).

It supported several voices within the Australian wine industry who believe the country must shed its international reputation for producing cheap, average quality wines.

Rabobank said the US represents an "important opportunity" to grow value sales. "At the moment there appears to be a gap in the market for domestic wines in the US$9 to US$12 price range, which is a clear opportunity for Australian wine."

If US market growth continues, "the US is expected to become the largest overall wine market in the world, surpassing Italy in 2008 and France around 2015", Rabobank analyst Vera Zelenay said.

She dismissed concerns about the US economy. "In spite of its current economic challenges, the US trend towards trading up to higher priced wines continues to grow, though at a slower pace, and is expected to continue growing over the next few years."