By Amy Looker
Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW), a marketing alliance formed by twelve leading family-owned wineries to boost the global perception of Australian wine, has launched the initiative in the UK.
Last week saw a group of AFFW family members and winemakers arrive in London to embark on a series of tasting events and masterclasses aimed at both local trade and consumers.
The events have been designed to educate and inform consumers in the UK on the quality and regionality of Australian wine at a time when its reputation has taken a hit in the wake of the global financial crisis.
AFFW member and Taylors Wines CEO, Mitchell Taylor, told TheShout that the reception the group has received by the UK trade and consumers has been incredibly positive.
“It’s a very exciting program that the AFFW has undertaken in the UK, and a very satisfying one. The UK trade love the concept behind the AFFW because, compared to other wine-producing nations, there isn’t any other country out there that has the level of collaboration that we do,” said Taylor.
“At the masterclasses, I’ll speak about Tyrrell’s and how good their wine is and people are just amazed that we support one another like that. The work of the AFFW is to build on the great work the Australian wine industry has been doing over the last 20 years. This is almost like a rebirth of Australian wine.”
Taylor said that British consumers were equally receptive to the AFFW.
“They‘ve grown up drinking Australian wine and they’re looking for more information on the high quality of Aussie wines, and also to explore our many different regions,” he explained. “They understand Bordeaux as an individual region but when they think of Australia they think the whole country is one big region. It has been great to speak about the attributes of different Australian regions.”
The AFFW members will spend this week at the London International Wine Fair, promoting both their own labels and the AFFW.
The collective plans to launch in other international markets, including the USA, at a later date.