Australian wine export value reaches highest level in 15 years as industry tries to claw back US consumers

THE value of Australia’s wine exports has grown to its highest level in 15 years. But it appears one of our largest markets may be losing its taste for the Aussie drop.

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NORTHEAST Asia’s demand for premium Australian wine has driven the value of the nation’s exports to its highest level in 15 years, reaching $2.76 billion in 2017/18.

While the 20 per cent growth in value was welcomed by the industry’s peak body, Wine Australia said the grape and wine community must redouble its efforts in the US market.

Of the nation’s five largest markets, the US was the only one not to grow in value. Instead it fell by eight per cent to $424 million, according to Wine Australia’s quarterly export report.

Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark said the nation’s wines had performed well in the commercial half of the US market (bottles under $8), but this sector was now shrinking.

“As American consumers transition from commercial wines to more premium wines, Australia has to be there to capture the opportunity,” Mr Clark said.

“The premium end of the USA wine market is enjoying robust growth, as are Australian exports in nearly all price points above $10 per litre.”

Wine Australia this week launched an inaugural wine education program in California to raise awareness of Australia’s fine wine offering to 100 key influencers from the USA.

Mollydooker Wines owner and winemaker Sarah Marquis considered the McLaren Vale business well placed as the US market turned to more premium wines.

“We’ve had a huge presence in the US and sell about 50 per cent of our product in the market, or about 40,000 cases each year,” Ms Marquis said.

“The exchange rate went down affecting a lot of the purchasing of Australian wine and a lot of producers disappeared, but we stayed.

“In the five years our sales have declined a little bit, but we’re still very present.”

The Mollydooker Carnival of Love shiraz has also featured three times in the Wine Spectator magazine’s Top 10 Wines of the World further putting the winery “on the premium map”.

Shares in Treasury Wine Estates, which owns brands such as Penfolds and Wolf Blass, were trading five per cent higher at $19.20, while Australian Vintage was up 4.9 per cent.