China’s Hand-Picked One Hundred
By 2011-3-23 8:50:42
Wine Australia is currently preparing for the biggest international wine initiative of 2011, with 100 Chinese trade, media and educators heading for Australia for a hands-on experience of this year's vintage.
Taking a lead in the delivery of the A+ Australian Wine strategy which represents the best of Australian wine, and looking to establish a new network of wine specialists in Australia's fastest growing market, Wine Australia is investing in a program of new relationships across first, second and third-tier cities throughout China. Through its partnership with Austrade China, Wine Australia’s team in Beijing and Shanghai have been working on the initiative for several months. The Wine Australia team has worked collaboratively with Austrade’s China network and local market importers to nominate guests from across China.Wine Australia and Austrade staff from China will travel with the group in Australia to provide in-market support including interpretation. The April arrival of the 'hand-picked one-hundred' will see the group billeted to sixteen wine regions across Australia before convening in Sydney for a 'show-and-tell' farewell with supporting wineries.
Lucy Anderson, Wine Australia's Director Asia, explained: "This is not just an exercise designed to challenge our logistics, it is the first step towards developing a new and informed generation of Chinese wine influence.
"We acknowledge the reputation of Europe throughout Asia, and its influence on fine wine opinion and trade, but this is Australia’s way of delivering a new narrative that goes well beyond wine quality alone, and creates a live experience of Australia's regional wine, food and cultural experiences," Anderson continued.
Julia Zhu, Sommelier of Hilton Beijing, commented: “I’m very lucky to participate in this vintage trip. I have been to several wine making countries before but this trip offers me a unique opportunity to experience vintage and help me understand Australia’s quality wine.”
Mr Bin Jia, a local distributor from Xi’An, who has never been to Australia before, said “This trip shows great support from the Australian government in the promotion of Australian wine and culture to Chinese people, which for us distributors is very good news. As a wine lover, I am also excited to have the opportunity to see the famous wine regions and taste some of the best wines in Australia. After my return, I hope to tell my customers and friends about what I have learned in Australia, about its wine, culture and people.”
The 100 guests comprise a mix of media, wine educators and trade who are travelling from 24 different cities in China. The 80 strong trade group consists of F&B staff, retailers, distributors and importers. Guests will be divided into groups and spend several days within one of Australia’s best known wine regions hosted by leading winemakers and wineries; experiencing picking, pressing and plunging as the Australian wineries deliver “Vintage 2011”.
Amid the hard work and hospitality that is unique to every vintage, Australian wineries will also begin the shared task of establishing a network of informed leaders across China.
"Beyond creating the experience of a lifetime for our Chinese guests, the opportunity is to demonstrate a purposeful sense of alignment, with wineries, regional associations, government agencies and importers in market all sharing a vision and coming together to deliver a common goal,' Anderson concluded.
For further details on the Chinese trade, educator and media delegates, supporting wineries, participating regions and itinerary highlights, please contact Lucy Anderson.
Lucy Anderson, Director – Asia, Wine Australia
Email: lucy.anderson@wineaustralia.com
Email: lucy.anderson@wineaustralia.com
NOTES:
· Wine Australia is the statutory Government authority established to provide strategic support to the Australian wine sector in the areas of domestic and international wine promotion, market development, export regulation and compliance, trade, information and analysis, label integrity and winemaking practices.
· Since 2008, Wine Australia and the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) have operated a China partnership to promote the Australian wine sector. Austrade is the federal government agency for trade and investment.
· A+ Australian Wine reflects the heritage, diversity and quality of Australian wine.
· The 100 guests travelling from China have been selected via a collaborative process involving importers in China, Wine Australia, Tourism Australia and the Austrade network.
· The State Government of South Australia, the State Government of Victoria (RDV), Austrade and Tourism Australia have all contributed resources towards this collaborative initiative.
· Guests will travel to one of the following wine regions. Each region has provided both financial and on-ground support for the program:
o Adelaide Hills, SA
o Barossa Valley, SA
o Clare Valley, SA
o Coonawarra, SA
o Eden Valley, SA
o Great Southern, WA
o Heathcote, VIC
o Hunter Valley, NSW
o Langhorne Creek, SA
o McLaren Vale, SA
o Margaret River, WA
o Mornington Peninsula, VIC
o Orange, NSW
o Rutherglen, VIC
o Tasmania
o Yarra Valley, VIC
· Guests will be in Australia from Sunday 3 April to Friday 8 April.
From CWNM