China demand floats Halliday’s wine boat

James Halliday’s sober assessment of the state of the nation’s wine riches could be best summed up as ‘you’ve never had it so good’.

James Halliday ahead of the release of his Halliday’s Top 100 wine list published in The Weekend Australian Magazine. Picture: Nick Cubbin

James Halliday has poured, sniffed, swirled and quaffed more wine than probably any other Australian in the past 50 years and his sober assessment of the current state of the nation’s wine riches could be best summed up as “you’ve never had it so good”.

And word is spreading, ­especially through the banqueting halls and private dining rooms of China, with that country’s thirst for our wine — and the cash to pay for Australia’s most sought-after reds — underwriting investment in vineyards and pushing up prices.

Mr Halliday describes the wine industry as being in “rude health” thanks to its export prowess compared to other segments of the flat Australian economy and sees it as a time for drinkers to rejoice in the quality on offer.

“I’m unambiguously on the side of saying it’s a great time for consumers … branded wine is getting better and, yes, you’re paying more, but you’re getting more for your dollar,’’ he said in the lead-up to his Halliday’s Top 100 wine list published in The Weekend Australian Magazine.

“A lot of things are coming together at the same time. There is a growing average age of chardonnay and pinot noir. Secondly, looking at the vineyard scene, an indirect benefit to consumers is the use of machine harvesters that have an amazing selective skill to get rid of damaged berries and other bits and pieces, and so what you now get is pristine, clean fruit coming in to the winery.’’

Price rises are expected as Chinese buyers with deep pockets sweep up the best Australian wines on offer, mostly reds, but some chardonnay too is starting to find its way to Chinese ports. This is also creating a halo effect for the wider Australian wine ­industry as winemakers lift their game to please affluent drinkers.

The Halliday’s Top 100 is not just a list of the best wines on offer below and above $30; it is also this year a story of redemption for some wine styles that for many years have been derided or ­ignored but now are back in favour. Mr Halliday is particularly buzzed about the rehabilitation of chardonnay, not the clumsy, “sunshine in a bottle” made ­famous decades ago but rather a style that is delicate and refined.

Rehabilitated, too, is grenache, which was one of Australia’s earliest plantings but used mostly in fortified wines. It is now back as a best-in-class red. “The new grenache style is incredibly fragrant, wonderfully clear, crimson colour and very much the case of have a second glass, have a third glass.’’

And in an assessment that will surely gall the French, the quality gap between Champagne and Tasmanian sparkling is getting skinnier and skinnier. China looms large over the industry, as it does the entire economy, but this can be good news for drinkers, Mr Halliday believes, in that Chinese investment in Australian vineyards is producing a rising tide that lifts all boats. Sure, it is causing market distortions, says Mr Halliday, in terms of rising prices, but all drinkers are revelling in the superior wine produced.