Australia bounces back With a vintage almost a third bigger than the fire-ravaged disaster of 2019, Australian winemakers have a lot of quality wine to sell. And with China almost out of the picture for the time being, the UK has once again become the country’s most important export market, as David Williams reports
W
ine Australia called it a “unicorn
way, and the vintage ended up being the
enough, the headline figures show a fall in
vintage”. Other sources preferred
smallest in 10 years.
value of 24% to £1.23bn, and a 17% drop
“largest ever”, or simply “massive”.
In that context, the 2021 vintage, which
in volume to 638m litres. As well as in
However you choose to describe it, there’s
was as ever dominated by a resurgent
China, Australian wine struggled in what
no doubt that Australia’s latest grape crop
South Australia with 1.06m tonnes (52%
is now the number two market by value,
was a tonic for grape growers after a torrid
of the total) followed by New South Wales
the United States (losing 11% in volume to
preceding couple of years.
(580,875 tonnes; 29%) and Victoria
£213m) and in its fifth largest market by
(334,834 tonnes; 17%), could be seen as
value, Canada (down 12% to £93.6m).
2.03m tonnes, some 31% bigger than 2020
The 2021 vintage clocked in at a total of
the year Australia bounced back, providing,
and 19% up on 2019. Better still, according
as Triggs put it, “an opportunity for
to Wine Australia’s National Vintage
depleted inventory levels to be restored,
Report, it was “characterised by near-
ensuring we have the supply we need to
perfect growing and ripening conditions
take up new export opportunities”.
O
across most states and regions”. In a Wine Australia statement, the
Outsiders could be forgiven for finding
n the plus side of the ledger, Hong Kong was up 135% to £112m. And, rather more pertinently for readers of
this magazine, Australia is in the midst of a UK boom. Indeed, the British seem to have
a slightly euphemistic edge to Triggs’
fallen hard once again with Aussie drops
body’s general manager for corporate
reference to “new export opportunities”.
– and it’s premium wines that seem to be
affairs and regulation, Rachel Triggs, said
This, after all, is an industry trying to come
finding the most favour.
there was “good fruit set, plenty
to terms with the collapse of what
of water at the right time, lack
was, until late 2020, its most
of heatwaves, low disease
important export market by
pressure, and favourable
value, China.
harvest conditions [that]
The effects of the
have resulted in a high-
swingeing tarrifs imposed on
yielding, high quality vintage”.
Australian wine by the Chinese
The upbeat tone was perfectly understandable given the apocalyptic
government at the end of last year were rapid and severe.
“Over the past 18 months, there has been a significant increase in exports to the UK, which has led to the market solidifying its place as Australia’s number one destination by volume and it has now overtaken mainland China as the number one destination by value,” said Triggs. According to the Wine Australia Export Report, published in mid-October, exports
scenes of the Australian summer of 2019 to
According to the latest figures from Wine
2020 and the Covid-ridden times that have
Australia, exports to mainland China fell by
the year to September 2021. Significantly,
followed.
an astonishing 77% in value, to £148m (to
a slight drop (2%) in volume was offset by
In spring 2020, the full cost of Australia’s
to the UK grew by 7% in value to £249m in
put it in sterling terms) in the year to the
average value increases of 9% to 99p per
devastating and prolonged bushfire season
end of September 2021, while the number
litre, which is the highest average value
was still being counted and analysed. The
of Australian shippers selling wine to China
Australian wines have managed since mid-
fires ended up destroying around 1% of
fell from 2,241 to just 750 in the same
2011.
the Australian vineyard, but with many
period.
producers choosing not to produce wines
Naturally, a loss of that scale (Treasury
“In the past 12 months, exports in almost all price segments to the UK have
because of smoke taint, Wine Australia
Wine Estates alone lost £41m worth of
continued to grow, with exports at an
estimated that 4% of production, or 60,000
Chinese sales) is going to have an effect
average value over $5 per litre enjoying
tonnes, was affected by the fires in some
on the overall export figures. And sure
35% growth in value,” the Report said. “The
THE WINE MERCHANT january 2022 40
