By Amy Looker, editor National Liquor News
The Clare Valley's Leo Buring is set for a big summer of Riesling, as more consumers look to the varietal over the warmer months and begin to appreciate the drier style Australia has championed.
Senior winemaker at Leo Buring, Peter Munro, said the winery’s Clare Valley range has enjoyed a significant increase in value over the past year, which he attributes to consumers becoming more educated on what to expect from an Australian Riesling.
“Generally, the $14 to $19 bracket is in seven per cent decline from last year but our Clare Valley wines have increased by 80 per cent in value since last year. We do see people enjoying our wines over summer which is why we try to get them out by July and by the summer season we’re on the current vintage – they’re fresh, vibrant styles which are great to be enjoyed in nicer weather,” he said. [continued below]
Munro (pictured) says that education is the key to promoting Riesling over the summer, and that the Riesling scale is an invaluable tool for retailers to get the point across.
“I’m a big fan of the international Riesling scale that we use on our products. Peter Nixon from Dan Murphy’s used Leo Buring an example of customers knowing exactly what the scale is. It’s important that we have it on the front label,” said Munro.
“The ‘Summer of Riesling’ is a strong global event and there is a lot of good online activity about that that reaches people. People who drink Riesling tend to be more wine-educated so there is an argument to say the more retailers can educate in general, the more consumers will drink Riesling.”