Sobering words from wine sage

AWARD-WINNING British wine writer Andrew Jefford says international consumers are becoming jaded with cheap and cheerful Australian wines, and has called on producers to market their regional qualities.

Mr Jefford, who has taken up an Australian-first Winewriter in Residence position at the University of Adelaide, yesterday said that while the nation's wines were the biggest sellers in Britain, they needed to evolve to retain their position on top.

"What's happened in Britain is that consumers are becoming a little jaded with the Australian wine on offer," Mr Jefford told the HES.

"It's seen as something you cut your teeth on and then you move on to something that's more subtle and smooth and more experienced."

He said the past five years had seen a huge reliance on sales of discounted Australian wines to achieve sales targets.

With key Australian brands dominating shop shelves, Mr Jefford said it could have a negative impact on smaller producers, who often sold smaller volumes of more expensive wine.

Those smaller and medium producers, he said, needed to evolve and capitalise on Australia's diverse regions, creating a selling and marketing point of difference that many other countries could not compete with.

"Regionality, it's the one thing nobody can steal from you," he said. "Winemaking can be imitated and duplicated everywhere ... but if you can produce something that people love and identify with, they'll come back to it."

The wine writer and radio presenter, who has won dozens of international awards and written 13 books and wine guides, said countries such as New Zealand, Chile and Argentina were well-known for producing top wines in one or two classes, but lacked depth in different varieties.

"In New Zealand they have pinots and whites, but you'll never get big reds. Chile and Argentina, they seem to be bigger countries but really only make wine in the narrow breathing space of the Andes.

"If you can create regionality and a sense of place, it can pay for itself in the long run."

Mr Jefford will spend the next year at the university, he will tour wine regions from Margaret River to the Hunter Valley, he will write a book on great Australian vineyards and will work with research organisation Australian Wine 2030.

The global economic crisis, the drought, and new world producers have also impacted on sales of Australian wines in key international markets.

Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation's January figures showed that year-to-date exports for the second month in a row dropped 9 per cent to 701 million litres.

Mr Jefford said to stay price competitive, some Australian companies may have to consider merging brands with countries that have cheaper labour costs and more access to water, such as Chile. "Basic quality wine, brand fodder wine, is going to be cheaper, big brands are going to have to stop being exclusive to Australia."