By Nan Berrett 06 Oct, 2010 10:24 am
Exports will save Australia’s ailing wine industry according to the nation’s most respect wine critic and wine writer James Halliday.
Mr Halliday was generous in giving his time for a chat during lunch at a benchmarking exercise in Clare last week that focussed on Rieslings from the Clare and Eden Valleys.
He’s fond of the Clare Valley and said it was an important part of Australia’s wine mix.
Acknowledging that the whole of south eastern Australia had been affected by drought for the past 10 to 15 years, he said this had impacted on the Riverland growers in particular.
But he said that growers and winemakers would be able to put their troubles behind them in the next few years as industry recovery would come from overseas exports, particularly into Asian markets, led by China.
Mr Halliday said there had been a massive shift in World wine dynamics and Australia was now the second largest exporter of wine to China, exporting 20 percent - second only to France at 40 percent, with South Africa, Chile and California exporting 8 percent of their wine.
“We already have a position of dominance in that market.”
He said there was no question that the size of Australia’s market would increase considerably over the next five to 10 years.
“We are wonderfully well-located, we have our existing trade ties with China and India - and even if we sit and do nothing, our exports to China will grow significantly.”
The question of sufficient supply will be of critical importance once the predicted growth occurs.
“Having gone from a flood, we will go to a famine.”
Water will continue to be a major issue affecting grape production as it becomes scarcer and more costly, and fruit prices will rise.
Mr Halliday sees this situation as a positive one, as he strongly believes in moving away from the low-end “premium” wine market.
“We may well look back in 10 years time and see that it was quite a good thing, that we had this long drought, because it forced us to move towards more quality wines in the regions.”
He said a lot of work was still required, in terms of educating World wine consumers.
“The challenge will be to get past the view that they have in China and many parts of the world, that if it is French and it is wine it is good, and if it is wine and it is not French, it is not good.”
He said it was easy for the industry to be disappointed and discouraged, worried about over production and the effects of the GFC, but the future for Australia’s wine business was wonderfully strong.
“Right now you can’t see around the corner to a far better market and economic climate, but in five years we will probably be looking back and saying, ‘why were we so worried’.
“I am incredibly optimistic.”
Source: The Northern Argus
http://www.northernargus.com.au/news/local/news/general/exports-will-save-us-halliday/1961039.aspx
