Dear Australia, we Europeans love your wine. Here’s how to sell us your cheese

I remember once visiting an ice-cream shop named ‘The Australian’. Located in the heart of Brussels, my hometown and the epicentre of the European Union, I learned after chatting to the store owner that despite its name he wasn’t Australian at all. He’d named the store, he told me, as a way to entice people into the shop because he believed ice creams from such a hot country would mean good quality.

As talk of a potential trade deal between the European Union and Australia continues to make headlines around the world, the ingenious decision of the ice-cream shop owner in Brussels highlights the opportunity available to Aussie producers wanting to tap into the international market, and just how much weight the Australian name could have for international consumers.

But to get it right, producers would do well to follow in the footsteps of the Australian wine industry. Creating regional specialities, embracing their identity, and not trying to label themselves as imposter Burgundys or Bordeauxs, Aussie wine producers have found their niche and are featured in restaurants across Europe. By setting themselves apart and avoiding the urge to simply copy what French and Italian winemakers already do so well, they have been reaping the benefits of choosing the path of originality ever since.

Putting aside the absurdity of importing food from the other side of the planet in an era of climate change anxiety, there’s also the question of what’s in it for us from an EU perspective? If the products being imported from Australia are simply knock-offs of what’s easily available from neighbouring countries, what’s the point?

It may seem like petty semantics, but in restricting products like champagne or prosecco to a specific region, the EU is protecting its regional producers and looking out for its local economy, just as Australia wants to do, too.

The only reason to open our doors is when something is unique. Australia is not the only New World nation, but it does seem to be the only one that has, to date, failed to develop its own distinct brand. Among my fellow Europeans, we happily drink American brandy and drizzle Canadian maple syrup on our crêpes because they are different from our cognacs and confitures. To crack the market, there needs to be a pride in those quintessentially Australian specialties rather than simply presenting European imitations back to us.

Creating regional specialities, embracing their identity, and not trying to label themselves as imposter Burgundys or Bordeauxs, Aussie wine producers have found their niche and are featured in restaurants across Europe. Credit: iStock

I get it, your cheese is good. But why call it feta when you have the opportunity to name it after your own Australian regions? Why use the prosecco label when your regions could become just as famous and, over time, sought-out tourism destinations for roving epicures? You would bring a novelty, something to arouse our European curiosity and appeal to our craving for broader gastronomic horizons, and you would finally establish Australia as a brand on the global table.

But to be truly well received in Europe, where food and beverages from around the world are welcomed with open arms, Australia needs to work on its general lack of knowledge about the European Union. Brussels boasts the second-largest population of foreign correspondents in the world after Washington DC. Yet, strangely, Australia is one of the only countries that sends its foreign correspondents to the UK instead of Belgium, which guarantees biased news coverage focused on a country consumed by Brexit instead of offering a broader global understanding of what’s happening across the world.

The European Union has a track record as a reliable trade partner. In fact, the last I checked, it was Australia that abruptly cancelled a billion-dollar contract with a European nation, not the other way around.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is confident the ongoing trade issues “can be worked through”. I sincerely hope he’s right.

I would love to see a trade deal happen, but Australia needs to shed its prejudice toward my continent and engage in some soul-searching. This should be seen as an opportunity for Australia to overcome its lack of confidence and proudly join one of the world’s largest markets with products that deserve better than simply bearing another nation’s name and legacy.

Julien Oeuillet is a Belgian journalist working in Australia and Taiwan.

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