No cheap option for Hunter wines
The New South Wales Government has announced that it is going to support the State’s wine industry to expand the market of southern China. A recent NSW Government wine promotion trade mission produced immediate results showing just how impressed wine suppliers are with the quality of wines that NSW is producing.
Vice president of the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association Andrew Margan said there has been a lot of interest from China in the Hunter’s quality wines.
“China has the potential to be a huge market for the industry and they want the quality wines,” he explained.
“Australia needs to be careful that we are not marketed as the cheap option.
“We need to position ourselves at the high end of the market.”
The wine promotion trade mission was organised by Industry and Investment NSW and assisted 18 NSW wine companies to attend the fair last month.
Well aware of the Chinese’s focus on relationships, Mr Margan said that what the Government was doing was vital for establishing a partnership.
Treasurer and Minister for State Development Eric Roozendaal said that the aim of the trade mission and participation in the fair was to raise the profile of NSW wines in this expanding market and almost 12,000 buyers visited, a 36 per cent increase over the previous year’s attendance.
Leisure Wines, a major Australian wine supplier in Hong Kong, managing director Sam Irving was so impressed by the representation at the trade fair that he is visiting wineries in the Hunter, Mudgee, Cowra and Riverina areas to identify several companies to work with on a long term basis.
“Being customer focused with the right market approach, the NSW wines have plenty of potential in the Hong Kong and China market,” Mr Irving said.
Mr Irving added that he is hoping to work with some of the NSW wineries soon and get more NSW wines on the shelves.