By Andy Young
Wine Australia and Austrade Seoul have celebrated the Australia-Korea Free Trade Agreement with an Australia red wine masterclass in Seoul.
The masterclass, which featured special guest speaker Andrew Caillard MW, showed 10 iconic Australian reds to over 100 guests, including Korean importers, retail buyers and sommeliers.
Some of the wines poured at the event including Penfolds Grange 2008, McWilliams Mount Pleasant Maurice O'Shea Shiraz 2011 and Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2011.
The event proved popular with the attendees as Vicky Jung, editor of WineOK.com, a Korean wine news and reviews website, said: "I'm grateful to Wine Australia for this masterclass because it shows Korean wine experts that Australia has always been capable of producing world class wines, with the Langton’s classification being a respected reference to Australia's fine wine, its legacy and success."
While the Ritz-Carlton Seoul’s sommelier Paul Eun added: "It was a wonderful showcase of the history and diversity of Australian wines, and also a valuable event to step up the position of Australian wine in the Korean market."
The masterclass was followed by a tasting event, which featured more than 60 wines from nine wineries.
Andreas Clark, CEO of Wine Australia said: "Australian wine has marked a new era in the Korean market, putting its best foot forward before the local influencers.
"The message of Australian fine wine – steeped in history, provenance and personality – resonated well with the audience. I hope the masterclass and trade tasting have triggered a desire to learn more about the modern-day world of Australian wine, which will bring a 'joy of discovery' to Korean wine lovers."
The new Australia-Korea Free Trade Agreement sees the elimination of a 15 per cent tariff on Australian wines in Korea.