Wine. Can Australia overcome a harsh reality in the US

The export market to the United States has never been an easy nut to crack but post global financial crisis it's become positively concrete.
The American economy is struggling against growing debt and recession, the Australian dollar floats around parity and there is a worrying awareness that the once loved Aussie brand is becoming a little stale among US wine drinkers.
At the recent Winemakers' Federation of Australia Outlook conference, guest presenter and a respected United States wine marketing authority John Gillespie delivered the statistics with a healthy dose of advice in his 'Realities in the USA' presentation.
Wine consumption in the US continues to rise and Gillespie, the US Wine Market Council president and chief executive officer of Wine Opinions, says it's a trend unlikely to change in the near future.

The big picture: US wine consumption
In 2009, 276 million cases of table wine were consumed in the US. It's a figure that's been steadily rising since 1994.
The per capita annual consumption in the US, based on data by the US Wine Council, is also growing, reaching 3.02 gallons per person in 2009. Of those consuming wine, Gillespie says 57% of them are core wine drinkers, drinking every day or weekly. The next biggest wine consumer sector are the marginal consumers. At 43%, marginals drink a couple of times a month.
There about 77 million core and marginal wine consumers in the US and core drinkers consume 91% of the country's total wine consumption.
The latest Nielsen Company data released in October shows a continued growth in consumption but decrease in imports.
In the year ending 24 July 2010, total domestic wine sales had increased in dollar value by 4.5% on the previous year. Imported wine sales decreased by 1%. In total volume of cases, domestic wine sales grew by 2.7% and imported wine sales dropped by 0.5%.
Competition heats up
Gillespie delivered the figures on sales trends, broke it down further among age groups, the different sexes and price points, but there was one question from the wine industry audience which rang out the loudest: Is Australia on the nose in the US market?
Gillespie didn't disagree.
'In looking at results from a recent survey of the US wine trade, and in speaking to distributors and retailers, I do think it is fair to say that there is some disaffection with Australian wines,' Gillespie said, in a later interview with the Grapegrower and Winemaker.
'However, I believe it is mostly a matter of lost share of mind due to very strong promotional efforts from other wine sources such as Spain, Chile, and Argentina - all of whom compete in the same price sectors as Australia.
'There is also the fact that both consumers and the trade feel they already know a lot about Australian wines, while they are more recently discovering wines like Malbec from Argentina and Albarino from Spain.'
According to a survey conducted by Wine Opinions, US on-premise sellers were selling less Australian wine in 2010 than in 2009.
The survey showed 25% of the on-premise trade surveyed said they were selling less Australian wine under $20, 27% said they don't sell it at all, 30% said sales remained the same and 19% said they were selling more.
For premises selling Australian wine over $20, 37% said they were selling less, 28% said they didn't sell it, 28% said sales remained the same and just 7% said they were selling more.
Wines sales from Spain, Argentina and Chile grew in the same period. In the under $20 price point, the survey showed 49% said they had sold more wine from Argentina and 37% said they sold more Chile and Spanish wine. In wine sales over $20, 16% said they sold more Argentina wine, and 11% said they sold more wine from Chile and Spain.
The latest Nielsen data shows a 5.3% drop in the amount of Australian table wine cases imported into the US in the year ending 24 July 2010 and a 7.5% drop in the market share of sales.
In the same time period, table wine imports from Argentina grew in sales share by 30.9% and in total volume of cases by 23.9%. Wine from Chile had an increase in sales share of 1.9% and in case volume 3.7%. Wine from Spain increased their sales share by 1.3% and by 2.9% in case volume.
New Zealand's total dollar value of imports grew by 18% and increased their total volume of cases by 25%. Germany and Portugal also saw an increase in sales share and cases imported.
Wine Assist principal Dan Traucki, who provides export support for a number of Australian brands in Asia and to a lesser extent the US, believes the Australian brand problem is less to do with being 'on the nose' and more about an oversupply of lower quality wine which is turning many of the mature markets and consumers away.
'In the US, I would suggest that the low cost 'critter' type wines have well and truly lost the newness and excitement they previously generated,' he said.
'They probably still have a place in the emerging markets such as part of Asia, but they appear to have just about reached their 'use by date' in America.'
Like Gillespie, Traucki believes the wines from countries such as Argentina and Chile have replaced Australia as the 'new and exciting' wine style and brand among experienced wine consumers - but only in the lower end of the market, which he says Australia should be aiming to get out of.

How do we regain US attention?
Gillespie recommends undertaking more qualitative research on the US trade to better understand the situation and to look for possible remedies.
'I will say that face-to-face work with the trade in the US should always be a priority,' he said.
He also believes there is real potential in the $8 to $18 price point in the US market, which presents good viable opportunities for Australia.
'I think in that price range, there is room for many styles of red, white, and Rose wines,' he said.
'We're currently seeing promotion from Beaujolais to establish themselves in that price range as a lighter alternative to the forceful red wine style.
'There are also many Chardonnays now in that price range that are going to low oak or no oak.'
There's also the 70 million US 'millennials' - aged between 16 to 33 - who have become the wine sectors biggest potential consumer market and are the least affected sector in the State's economic downturn.
'20 million [of US millenials] are still under legal drinking age and this sector will rule the market for quite a long time,' Gillespie said.
'And 41% of the wines that millennials drink is imported (compared to only 25% for baby boomers) so the importance of reaching millennials cannot be overstated, in my opinion.'
Traucki says the United States growing awareness for 'clean and green' products needs to be better capitalised on by Australian brands.
'Clearly we need to lift profile and perception. While we have become known for our cheap 'sunshine in a bottle' wines, we must lift that perception to a more high quality and premium product,' Traucki said.
'The vast majority of wineries in Australia produce wines which sell for between $15-$50 retail in the domestic market, thus it would seem sensible to me to focus mainly on this equivalent area in our target export markets.
'We should be promoting our quality, 'clean green' environment, freedom, diversity and our role in the development of wine quality over the past half century.'

Finish on a positive note
The US economic woes aren't likely to go away overnight, in fact, Gillespie told the Outlook Conference to 'get used to working in such a climate'.
He did, however, reiterate that opportunities still exist for those brands willing and able to stand out in the now crowded US market.
'There is always room for new brands that can differentiate themselves and offer a good quality/value ratio,' he said.
'I can't speak to other export markets, but the US is the largest wine market in terms of value and we are second only to France in volume (and will pass France in the next three years).
'But as in other countries, our wine trade is very much a relationship business, so there is no getting around the need to be personally present in the market.' ?

More articles from the Outlook Conference and its presenters will appear in coming issues of Grapegrower and Winemaker, including Lulie Halstead's take on why we need to rebrand to 'luxury wine'
Winebiz

Bundaberg Releases new logo and packaging

Bundaberg Rum has updated its branding across its entire product range for the first time in six years with a new trademark logo and new packaging. According to Rundaberg Rum marketing manager, Matt Bruhn, the updated look focused on the heritage of the brand, with the new trademark logo featuring the faces of founding fathers Frederic Buss, A.P. Barton and F.L Nott who together rescued the Bundaberg Dislillery from liquidation on 1894. The trademark logo will serve as the umbrella logo for the brand, and will be used on selected packaging and some point of sale.
Bruhn confirmed that the brand's iconic mascot Bundy R. Bear will still be present on all product packaging and will continue to feature within the brand'` future advertising campaigns. The new packaging features a focus on quality and craftsmanship of Bundaberg Rum and all bottles of FSBS (full strength bottled spirits) and a selection of RTD packs will feature an image of the Spring Hill House which is still used as the visitors centre at the Bundaberg Distillery site.

BUNDABERG RUM ORDER

wine or beer

Does wine or beer go better with pizza?

Probably that depends what kind of cheese is on the pizza, and if the wine has the proper bouquet to complement it, a nice Shiraz, perhaps a Cabernet even a full bodied merlot. If it is a BEER, icy cold, Pure Blond or Heineken.I'm sure many people would prefer wine, and why not, I'm just one of them!I would recomend you a wine pack Oakover mixed pack.8 Bottles pack +free dozen Heineken =$99.954 Bottles of Oakover SHiraz and 4 Bottles Oakover Sauvignon Blanc with cold Heineken dozen.Available all white pack with beer or all red with beer. Only for $99.95

Pack value $155

http://www.winemakerschoice.com.au/p/Wine-Packs/Mixed-Packs/OAKOVER-WINE-PACK-PLUS-FREE-DOZEN-HEINEKEN.aspx

Dinner wine pack 10 bottles and 12 bottles.

$20 voucher if you "Like" WineMakersChoice.com.au

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Premium wine, Shiraz, Oakover, Christmas wine packs, UK Gifts, Australian Gifts.

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Bronze, 2008 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
94 POINTS Tyson Stelzer 2010
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RRP $240 More info

Fancy a free vineyard?

In what has to be a sign of the times, it looks like even producers in our most lauded wine regions are feeling the pinch, with reports out showing that you can (theoretically) pick up a vineyard in none other than Margaret River for free.

It's a pretty good time to be buying vineyards.(But a bad time to be makign wine)...

http://fw.farmonline.com.au/news/state/property/general/free-vineyards-in-margaret-river/1913965.aspx

Do you drink by the seasons?

It's a miserable old day here in Sydney Town today, and around the office most of the wine based conversation revolves around the idea of 'warming reds' - that is, we feel like this sort of weather is leading us to want to drink something red.

That idea though is worth exploring, for I think that we might be in the minority here, as most people would tend to drink the same wine all year round, regardless of the weather/conditions.

Are we right? Do you drink by the seasons? Is it Riesling and Rose in Summer, Pinot in Autumn and big reds in Winter?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..

Whilst the Australian wine industry has variously been described as 'dying on the vine' and in the middle of a 'crippling grape glut' it seems that the actual quality of our wines has never been better.

The results of the 2010 Intenational Wine Challenge - one of the largest wine shows in the world - have just been announced and Australian wines have scored in a big way, scooping up 65 gold medals - which is a 33% increase on 2009 - and enough to place Australia second on the nation scoreboard read more here

Just to further emphasise the point, Australia also picked up 26 gold medals amongst a strong showing at the 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards (results here).

Now all that remains is to re-convince the rest of the world about it...

The Winemakers Choice Staff Picks

One of the simple joys of working for a wine club is that you get to try a large amount of wine. On any given day there are several bottles open (and sometimes many bottles open) and everyone is welcome to taste what's open.

Unsurprisingly then, there are some wines that just hit the spot. Often they are the wines that aren't actually part of any promotional offer, or even wines that we normally stock, yet they just win all of the staff over based on sheer drinkability.

So I've listed below some of the wines that us Winemakers Choice staff can't get enough of. Many of these can be found on our website (www.winemakerschoice.com.au) but some of them can't (this isn't a sales pitch after all, we just want to talk about our favourite wines).

1. Grant Burge Miamba Shiraz: Delicious Barossan Shiraz, built in that beautiful, rich and full flavoured style. No harsh tannins, no excess, just lots of delightfully rich fruit flavours. The recently released 2008 vintage is particularly gluggable.

2. Yellowglen Bella: Some may roll their eyes at this sweet and juicy sparkling wine, but you can't doubt the attraction - light pink in colour with some juicy grapey sweetness, cleverly balanced by the froth and bubbles. Known to empty at great speed at sunny afternoon BBQ's.

3. Goldwater Sauvignon Blanc: Marlborough Sauv Blancs are (understandly) very popular with Winemakers Choice staff members, but this one has proven to be one of the favourites. What makes this one so attractive is it's flavour intensity, with a real depth of herbaceous aromatics and tropical fruit making for a wine of conviction.

4. Clairault Cabernet Sauvignon: It's not hard to see why this was popular - a bottle aged Margaret River Cabernet built dry, medium bodied and savoury but also with enough fruit sweetness to carry it all off. We only recently ran out of the 2003 vintage of this and a fair proportion of it was picked up by the staff....

5. Gramps Botrytis Semillon: 'Stickies' are hardly an everyday drink, so it's hardly a wine that sells by the pallet load, but it is still surprisingly popular amongst the staff. Why? Have you tried one? It is delicious! A sensationally rich, toffed, marmalade drenched sticky in the classic Riverina mould. Goes very well with poached pears ('allegedly')

6. White Rabbit Beer: Yes, it's a beer, but it is such a good beer that it deserves a mention. White Rabbit is a dark ale brewed in the Yarra Valley by the crew behind Little Creatures. Produced in a classic style, using open fermenters and lots of hops, this is one charismatic and delicious ale for anyone who favours quality over quantity.

Debunking Shiraz Viognier

Debunking Shiraz Viognier

Shiraz Viognier - it's THE buzz blend in Australia right now and it seems like everyone, from all corners of the map, is currently producing (or in the the throes of producing) one.

So, this week we are going to have a closer look at this very new wine style in a (hopefully) quite open style.

Please, if you have any questions, thoughts, opinions etc. don't hesitate to hesitate to comment on this post below.

What is Shiraz Viognier?
Shiraz Viognier is simply a blend of the Shiraz with a small addition of the Viognier (pronounced vee-on-yay). The Viognier component is often co-fermented with the Shiraz (ie fermented together) for better flavour integration with only a small amount of Viognier actually required to make for a successful wine (usually no more than 5-7%).

But hold on, isn't Viognier a white grape?
Correct. In this case the Viognier is used to help 'mellow' the often forceful nature of Shiraz, whilst also helping to lift the aromatics and brighten up the colour. As it is only a very small component of the blend, the end result is a red wine that can still be full bodied, yet with a more rounded and juicy palate profile.

Unusual. Where did it come from?
Shiraz Viognier is classically produced in the Northern end of the Rhone Valley in France, particularly from the renowned slopes of Cote Rotie (translated as 'the roasted slope'). In the Rhone, Viognier was classically co-fermented with Shiraz (née Syrah) to give extra perfume and lift, whilst also acting as a handy stabilising agent.

So what's the appeal?
Imagine, if you would, taking a typically full bodied Shiraz and then filing off some of the hard edges. Shiraz Viognier, at it's best, manages to combine both power and elegance, often coming up with a wine that is much more approachable in it's youth, without losing it's ability to mature nicely in the cellar.

And where is Australia's best Shiraz Viognier produced?
Whilst Shiraz Viognier can be produced just about anywhere that Shiraz can be successfully grown, the blend is at its best in cooler climates. Arguably, the two regions leading the Shiraz Viognier charge are the Yarra Valley and the Canberra District, both of whom have considerable history with the blend.

Finally, what are the best wines?
As always it's a contentious issue to attempt to nail down what construes as the best, but at the very least we will look at some of the top wines.

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier ($75)

Tim Kirk, winemaker at Clonakilla, is an unabashed fan of Rhone reds, having been first inspired back in 1991 by the glory of Marcel Guigal's single vineyard 'La La''s. He has thus been producing his very own single vineyard Shiraz Viognier since 1992 (making it one of the firsts, behind the wine below) in a range that now features no fewer than 3 Canberra district Shiraz Viogniers.

This Shiraz Viognier, his top wine, has a reputation for both power and grace, epitomising everything that this blend is renowned for.

Yarra Yering Dry Red No.2 ($75)
Few would realise how long Yarra Yering has been producing a Shiraz Viognier blend, but records show this to have been first made in the late 70's. A typically restrained and elegant wine, this often has a small portion of Marsanne (another Rhone variety) also co-fermented for further interest.

The Dry Red No.2, like all the Yarra Yering wines, is famously long lived, with the 1980 vintage still said to be drinking well, some 30 years later.

Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz Viognier ($225)
In direct contrast to the other two wines above, Run Rig is built much more like a typically Australian Shiraz than a French Syrah, with oodles of impact, power and richness, with the Viognier here acting like a foil for the sheer weight of old vine Barossan fruit.

Torbreck also produce another, cheaper, companion to the Run Rig known as 'The Descendant' in amongst a range of more than 6 Shiraz based wines (with a new, even more super premium on its way).

Find a good bottle of Shiraz Viognier at Winemakers Choice! Check out the range here

Australian winemaking inventor dies aged 92

Sad news this week that Thomas Angove, inventor of the winecask died aged 92.

Angove was a pioneer of Australian wine, having not only invented the wine cask, but also planting one of the earliest large scale plantings of the South Australian Riverland.

The Shout has an excellent story that follows some of his achievements:

Read it here

Wine lake spreading to NZ

We have all heard the news, read the reports, seen (perhaps even tasted) the $2 Dan Murphys cleanskins and felt the grape growers pain as the Australian wine industry threatens to collapse on itself, drowning in a lake of tax incentive scheme propped cheap Shiraz and Chardonnay that no one wants anymore.

Yet the doom and greed of the wine oversupply situation doesn't appear to be confined to just Australian shores, as recent reports have shown that the Kiwi's appear to have started their own wine lake, with theirs taking on a distinct Sauvignon Blanc flavour.

Read about it here:
http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/wine-growers-feeling-pain-3446383

Can you taste the difference between cork and screwcap

It has taken a while for the science to catch up with the market practice, but evidence has been released this week suggesting that people cannot taste the difference between screwcap and cork sealed wines.

Is this the last nail in the coffin for cork?

Read about it here

Taxation Changes for the wine industry

In a bid that will most likely push up the prices of most Australian wines and put even further pressure on the beleagured wine industry, recent leaks from the much vaunted Henry report into taxation in Australia has led to speculation that Australia will move to a flat percentage tax on alcohol, abolishing much of the rather complex alcohol taxation system currently used.

Have a read of this article for more information (here).

What do you think? Do you support such a taxation system?

Happy New Year!

Firstly, happy new year from everyone at Winemakers Choice!

Now that the bedlam of Christmas time has passed, it's time to start thinking about the new year and with it, new beginnings.

After going missing in action over the second half of last year as we built our new website (hope you like it), we promise to get back into regular blogging in 2010.

So good tidings, and dont forget to check back regularly in 2010!