By James Wells at ProWein
Australian Vintage CEO and International Winemaker of the Year, Neil McGuigan, has called upon the Australian wine industry to stand up for itself and cease the negativity that is affecting the country’s reputation internationally.
Speaking to TheShout at ProWein in Germany, McGuigan said that Australia had lost its ability to tell the world its stories, particularly by the unique characters and personalities behind our wine brands including several family owned businesses.
“Australia makes the best value wines in the world and we need more of our colleagues over here talking it up. We need more personalities over here, we need more people talking strongly about how wonderful the Australian wine industry is,” he said.
McGuigan reacted to the common complaints that we have an oversupply problem and are uncompetitive due to the high cost of our currency.
“I don’t want to hear any negativity about the Australian wine industry. The Australian wine industry is fantastic and if anyone wants to talk it down, then I think you need to come on a ‘vineyard walk’ with me.” [continues below]
To hear more from Neil McGuigan, click on the video below:
Sell yourselves and sell your story
Meanwhile, the managing director of Kingston Estate Wines and Wine Australia board member, Bill Moularadellis, claimed that a new generation of winemakers has emerged who are prepared to sell the story of quality Australian wine, which has the potential to reinvigorate the local industry.
“Over the last 10 to 15 years this is something we have been lacking,” he said.
“Only 60 per cent of our wine is exported, and only 10 per cent is sold above $45 a case, so we have a real opportunity to sell more expensive wines to these international markets.
“We must have people that are prepared to travel, sell themselves and sell their story to re-infect the world with our enthusiasm,” he said.
To hear more from Bill Moularadellis, click on the video below:
Dear Neil McGuigan, the negativity on Australian wines is generally directed towards the likes of brands that are heavily discounted in the major retailers, where independents were initially used to establish these brands.
The negativity is coming from over priced average wine compared to overseas, together with massive aggressive discounting local wines which leads to erosion of brand equity.