The Sunday Mail reveals the drinking habits of South Australians
A NEW social map has emerged detailing what we drink in relation to where we live.
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SOUTH Australia’s dedicated followers of fashion live in Adelaide’s plush northeastern suburbs, while the sticklers for more traditional fare live in chilly Mount Gambier.
And when it comes to the more adventurous and alternative life-stylers, well clearly they’ve moved into Adelaide’s coolest inner western suburbs.
This unofficial social map of South Australia is actually the result of our wine purchasing choices, courtesy of powerhouse retailer Dan Murphy’s, whose top brass have dug deep into their own data records to give The Sunday Mail an exclusive view of the way we sip and savour.
The Golden Grove store, for instance, sells more rose as a proportion of its total wine sales than any other Dan Murphy’s outlet in the country – and rose is one of the biggest movers in wine styles the industry has seen in many years.
Conclusion: It’s an upwardly mobile, trend-seeking area where the women are leading the way when it comes to home lifestyle choices.
Meanwhile down in the deep south-east, it’s a long way from the fashion-following, rose-sipping suburbs.
Regularly colder than many other places, and with an ageing population, according to Dan Murphys wine panel head Peter Nixon, the research speaks for itself.
Mount Gambier drinks heaps of tawny (port), with sales data revealing the store sells more proportionately than any other of the 217 outlets across Australia.
“It’s probably (fair to say) it’s not an ‘on-trend’ town, without access to leading wine bar culture or the fashionable restaurants of the big cities,” Mr Nixon says.
“So it’s more traditional.”
And probably more males make the trip to the liquor shop if they want to rock and roll.
The trend-ulum swings wildly, however, when it comes to the younger and hipper residents of Adelaide’s inner west, where the Welland Dan Murphy’s store on Port Road services a more alternative lifestyle market.
The evidence in the sales data reveals they’re buying more emerging wine varieties and styles such as tempranillo, cabernet franc and adventurous red blends.
If there’s one thing the research tells us it’s South Australians carry the nation in its support for homegrown wines, with 84 per cent of all wines consumed Australian made.
We also love our most cherished red wine, shiraz, which leads dry white and sauvignon blanc as our most consumed variety and styles.
And we’re even more parochial than that: Mount Barker drinks more sauvignon blanc than any other store proportionately – thanks to its location in the renowned sauvignon blanc region of the Adelaide Hills.
South Australia is clearly the wine state according to Dan Murphy’s Wine Panel head, Peter Nixon.
“We’re surrounded by significant wine regions and there’s a terrific diversity of styles,” Mr Nixon says.
While shiraz remains king, our red wine drinking habits are changing, he says, with pinot noir and other lighter and softer varieties and blends now increasingly sought after.
And in the past year, Australian sparkling wines outsold its French counterpart, Champagne, by more than five to one, from the bargain end right up to more expensive local offerings.
Dan Murphy’s dug into their sales data to highlight what Australians favour in the flavour stakes and to encourage greater homegrown buys during the industry wide Aussie Wine Month in May.
RAISING A GLASS
SOUTH Australians, like the rest of the country, drink shiraz more than any other variety or style, while more detailed analysis reflects the social profile of surrounding areas:
■ GOLDEN GROVE: Rosé sales point to fashion followers and trend setters
■ WELLAND: Alternative varieties and adventurous blends
Noarlunga: Love their nearby McLaren Vale drops, especially chardonnay
■ GAWLER: Close to the Barossa, they like big reds, including lesser- known variety durif
■ Mt BARKER: The locals are into sauvignon blanc — especially their Adelaide Hills grown versions
■ MT GAMBIER: Drinks more tawny port proportionately than anywhere else in Australia
■ MUNNO PARA: Tops every outlet in the country for its buy-Australian wine volumes
■ SMITHFIELD, PASADENA, GILLES PLAINS, NORWOOD, GLENUNGA, MARION, ST PETERS, BRICKWORKS , HIGHBURY, MARDEN: Shiraz
SOURCE: Dan Murphy’s, which has 217 stores nationally and 17 stores in SA, accounting for close to 30 per cent of all Australian retail liquor sales.