WHEN it comes to popping the cork at Christmas lunch, a leading winemaker is asking Aussies to support the local industry.
Award-winning sparkling winemaker, Ed Carr, is encouraging Australians to choose local when purchasing bubbles to celebrate the festive season.
The Christmas sales period is the sparkling wine category’s peak period with almost 20 per cent of sparkling wine’s annual sales occurring in December.
But with the current popularity of Champagne and Italian Prosecco, many quality Australian labels could be overlooked despite some of the best quality and value being offered by local cuvees, according to Mr Carr, who is the winemaker for House of Arras.
“The worrying thing for local wine producers is that five years ago, we were looking at 71.1pc of sparkling wine sold in Australia being produced locally but that has now dropped to 58.4pc. This can be attributed to the increase in imported products,” Mr Carr said.
Consumers are drinking more sparkling wine than ever with the segment growing at 7.8pc, ahead of total wine volume growth of 2.2pc.
The sparkling wine category’s share of the total alcohol market has also increased to 19.1pc from 18.5pc in 2011.
“However, there is a promising trend in the premium Australian segment ($15+) which is growing by 9.3pc,” Mr Carr said.
“This is proof that Australians are increasingly looking for quality over quantity. Wine drinkers are becoming more educated and discerning with their wine choices, yet when it comes to sparkling, we are seeing people influenced by the historic reputation of the likes of Champagne instead of choosing some of our home-grown gold.
“A lot of consumers are unaware that there are many sparkling wines produced here in Australia which can stand on their own against more traditional European options. Australian sparkling is an unsung hero with many just as worthy of consideration when it comes to quality and value for money, and that sentiment is being echoed by judges and wine critics locally and overseas.”
This year, House of Arras Grand Vintage 2007 was awarded Grand Champion Wine of Show at the Royal Queensland Wine Show which is the first time a sparkling wine has ever been awarded this top accolade.
It also won the Best Wine of Show at the Sydney Royal Wine eclipsing every still white, red and fortified wine.
This is proof that Australians are increasingly looking for quality over quantity.
- Ed Carr
House of Arras is also receiving international recognition this year having won gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards and Decanter Asia Wine Awards.
Accolade Wines is Australia’s largest wine company by volume and the fifth largest globally, delivering about 38 million, 9 litre cases to more than 140 countries annually.
Provenance has long played an important role in sparkling wine, and consumers are increasingly considering place of origin as part of their purchasing decision.
“I have long championed Tasmania as having the best sparkling fruit resource in the country,” Mr Carr said.
“While I firmly believe that Tasmania is the sparkling capital of Australia, we are also seeing some fantastic cuvees from other regions.
“Grant Burge from the Adelaide Hills and Victorian Alps, and Yarra Burn from Victoria in particular are producing some outstanding sparkling wine.
“The Grant Burge Pinot Noir Chardonnay is one of my favourites to have on the Christmas table - alongside House of Arras of course.
