Most Australians are known for enjoying a drop or two of what they call "God’s nectar" and no, that’s not Foster’s we’re referring to. Our bronzed Commonwealth cousins drink 21 litres of red and white wine per person annually, that’s 40 per cent more than Canadians, so when we’re visualizing a good vino, you might as well ask them.
A good start locally would be B.C Liquor Store’s portfolio manager, Chris Perry. He’s the man responsible for all those green and brown glass bottles clinking all over the province.
"Sales of Aussie wine imports are hot right now, there’s no doubt about it," said Perry.
Let’s drink to that because statistics show Down Under’s drops are now the number one imports in to B.C. In 2002, we sipped 3.3 million litres of Australian red and white wine — nearly a litre for every person in the province and an increase of over 21 per cent on the previous year. Perry says B.C.’s wine consumers are savvy selectors.
"They’re looking for the best quality wine for their money and apart from our own B.C. vineyards, Australia is the best option. It helps having such a favourable exchange rate so comparable to our own dollar, but the reputation is that you’re getting real value for money buying Aussie imports."
Let’s put cork-popping statistics aside for a moment. Aussie wines are serious business here. So much so there are six accredited Australian wine societies spread across Canada. President of the 20-year-old and 200-strong Vancouver club, Tony Beattie, is a Canuck who has spent considerable time in Australia as a pilot for Air Canada.
"I do the Van to Sydney via Honolulu and back route," said Beattie. "I was also based in Sydney for a few years and got a real taste for Aussie wines while I was there. When I came back to Canada permanently, I started my wine cellar and have been a huge fan ever since. Aussie brands and choices really expanded my palette. It’s a fabulous region to start with if you want to become a collector," he said.
So from a drinker’s perspective, what’s so good about Aussie wines?
"They’re full of flavour and a lot are made to drink straight away," Beattie said. Right, so less tannins and more drinkability, check .
Aussie wines are masters when it comes to marketing.
"They’re constantly looking to improve themselves, their blends of grapes are quite daring, whereas the Europeans are quite set in their ways," Beattie adds. "Then there’s the screw top bottle, that was a big controversy but now traditionalists are realizing you don’t need a cork, the wine won’t be ruined." Easy to open, check.
The other factor on their side is geography. Aussie vineyards are east, north, south and west, so technically there will never be a bad year.
"If it’s a poor crop in the Hunter Valley on the east, Western Australia’s Margaret River will have a bumper season. Other regions don’t have that back-up. If California has a bad year, they’re finished," said Beattie. OK, so it’s hard to pick a bad batch, idiot friendly, check.
In response to the increase in Australian wine sales overseas, Austrade (Australia’s governmental arm helping companies secure trade deals overseas), has since set up its own wine industry office in Canada. Based in Toronto is director, Greg Homonylo.
"There’s a few major trends driving the global liquor market right now," he said. "There’s the premium beers and imports as people look to travel the world through beverage; there’s the alcoholic coolers and pops, and there’s Australian wine, which is well priced, good quality and easy to drink," said Homonylo.
In terms of Canada’s fascination with good grapes from the far-far south, Homonylo attributes it to strong kinship.
"Canada and Australia feel a very strong bond. In international sporting events, if one of us gets knocked out, it’s not uncommon to see the Canadian cheering for the Australian and vice versa. Our personalities are very similar, we like to socialize and be outdoors. We’re also the only two countries that haven’t had a drop in tourism since 9/11 so that speaks highly of our camaraderie."
Three cheers to our mateship then. But hang on, we can’t let them beat us can we? Despite the open arms, it appears Canadian and overseas wine companies are not taking the invasion lying down. In fact, it looks like a case of if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
Canada’s largest wine company, Vincor, which owns Jackson-Triggs and Inniskillin, has bought Goundrey in Western Australia. Recently announced was a merger between BRL Hardy, a large Australian company, and Constellation from the U.S. Australia’s Orlando-Wyndham, which puts out Jacobs Creek and Wyndham Estates, is owned by a group called Pernod-Ricard, a French company. America’s Gallo has a joint venture with the largest family-owned winery, McWilliams and their Hanwood brand.
It’s not all bed-hopping though, there’s also some anger. Some connoisseurs believe Australian wine has reduced the level of sophistication that wine used to bring. With their screw top bottles, drinkable cheapies and cardboard carry cases, it’s almost a fashion faux pas for some, but that doesn’t bother the Aussies.
"In a way we think that’s a compliment," said Homonylo in reference to the de classe’ of fine drops. "Even though it may not sound like a nice thing, if you rephrase it in a slightly different way, which is to say wine has become more accessible, then that’s one hell of a compliment and we’ll take that from anyone."
From Shiraz to Chardonnay, Reisling to Rose’, what a reason to raise a glass!
xNOTEWORTHY AUSSIE STATS:
Australian wine around the world
• Australia has some of the oldest grapevines in the world, as many vines in Europe were destroyed by Phylloxera in the late 1800s.
• Australia’s first vines were planted in Sydney in 1788. There are vines dating back to the 1850s in Australia that still bear high-quality fruit.
• As a wine-growing continent, Australia has 65 designated growing regions.
• Australia has nearly 150,000 hectares under vines.
• Australia’s wine industry has the highest percentage of premium grape varieties (70%) of any wine industry in the world.
• Although Australia is famous for Chardonnay and "Big Reds," other varieties thrive in the various regions and climates Down Under. Some examples:
• Pinot Noir and sparklings from Tasmania and Victoria’s Rutherglen
• Riesling in Margaret River and the Clare Valley
• Semillon from the Hunter Valley
• Grenache from the Barossa Valley
• Aussie winemakers even have success with Italian varietals such as Barbera and traditional French grapes like Viognier and Marsanne.
• A key Australian wine industry strength is the ability to blend wines of different grape varieties across different regions, thus creating the consistently high quality which Australia is renowned for.
