California Wines has held its inaugural Australian trade tour, Discover the Golden State of Wine – Tastings & Masterclasses with California Wines.
With tasting events held across Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, the three-day, three-city event welcomed more than 420 trade professionals, exceeding initial expectations, and is believed to be one of the largest official tastings in Australia by a wine industry body.
In partnership with leading Australian importers, the tour was designed to reinvigorate and deepen the local trade’s understanding of California wine by showcasing a dynamic spectrum of styles, varieties, regions, and price points.
Esteemed producers and Australian importers who participated in the tour included: Bacchus Wine Merchants, Bibendum Wine Co., Clarity Cru, Cru, Domaine Wine Shippers, Fine Wine & Craft Spirits by Constellation Brands, Jackson Family Wines, Oatley, The Duckhorn Portfolio, QED Wines, Saint Wine, Vintage House Wines, West Coast Wines, Young & Rashleigh and Delicato.
David Schomburg of West Coast Wines said: ‘It was a great opportunity to meet, show and share our Premium Californian wine portfolio to a greater wine audience – including some of Australia’s most influential wine buyers, restaurateurs, high-end retail, writers and influencers on the East coast.”
Matthew Quirk, proprietor of QED Wines, was also pleased with the event.
“As the importer of Rhone Varietal Wines with Tablas Creek, it was great to have the support of the Californian Wine Institute to highlight the unique story and the high quality of their wines,” Quirk said.
“I look forward to supporting the event every year, because California is more than just Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernets.”
In addition to these exhibitors, California Wines hosted their own table of new-to-market labels from California Wine Export Program members, which spotlighted pours from exciting wineries like J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Fior di Sole and Trinchero Family Estates.
“To enhance California wine’s potential in the Australian market, our priority is to solidify relationships with our distribution partners and their customers, as well as highlight new varietals the industry may have not yet had the privilege to sample,” stated Hiro Tejima, joint regional director of North Asia & Australasia at California Wines.
“This tour has taken us a big step forward, sharing the diversity and innovation of California wines, and most importantly, bringing our local industry peers together to connect, learn, and rediscover the Golden State.”
Each city of the tour also featured a series of masterclasses hosted by award-winning wine educator Elaine Chukan Brown: a 45-minute seminar that broadly covered the varieties and regions of Californian wine and a 90-minute deep dive on the rich wine territory.
For more information on California Wines and to learn about the area, their Capstone California program offers a variety of resources including maps as well as regional and varietal study guides and is also home to the official certification program.