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AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION
OTTAWA
MEDIA RELEASE
AUSTRALIAN WINE: COMPETING ON THE WORLD STAGE
8 September 2009
The Australian Government has joined some of the leading Australian wine-making families to launch the Australian First Families of Wine campaign which aims to place more high-quality Australian wine on overseas tables.
At the launch Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke said Australia exported high volumes of wine, but it was increasingly seen as a cheaper option compared to wines from other countries.
“This is about exporting higher value wines, rather than just a high volume of wines,” Mr Burke said.
In the mid-1980s Australia was a net importer of wine but today exports 2.5 million bottles daily, worth about $2.8 billion annually.
Inaugural members of the global marketing push are: Brown Brothers (Victoria); Campbells (Victoria); d’Arenberg (South Australia); De Bortoli (NSW); Henschke (South Australia); Howard Park (Western Australia); Jim Barry (South Australia); McWilliam’s (NSW); Tahbilk (Victoria); Taylors (South Australia); Tyrrell’s (NSW) and Yalumba (South Australia).
Mr Burke said there was a particular opportunity for Australian wines to capture the emerging Asian market, including in Hong Kong and China.
“Hong Kong intends to be the wine hub for Asia and we must be on the ground, marketing our local wines.”
The Government has already reached formal agreements with the Government of China and the Administration of Hong Kong to secure better access for Australian wine into China.