A surge of interest for Australian wine amid record crowds at Vinexpo Hong Kong

Exhibitors at Wine Australia’s Vinexpo Hong Kong stand explored new business opportunities during the three-day fair. The crowds of keen wine buyers and media from across the Asia Pacific region demonstrated the interest in Australian fine wine in this, Australia’s fastest growing export region.

Joanna Zheng, Product Senior Director at Amazon China said, ‘Among all of the pavilions, it seemed to me that Wine Australia’s pavilion was the most popular, always crowded with visitors’.

Sam Holmes, General Manager International Sales at Negociants, found Vinexpo Hong Kong a valuable trade engagement opportunity in a region where cultivating and maintaining relationships is key to success.

‘Vinexpo has been a great opportunity for us to meet our partners from all over Asia. For us it’s not about finding new customers or new markets, we’re pretty extensively distributed in this region. What it does allow us to do is meet with influencers from so many different countries in one spot. It’s a lot easier to come to Hong Kong than it is to also fly to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Japan and China for example.

‘I’ve got sore feet and sore elbows from pouring a lot of wine over the past three days and it seems we’re getting some momentum. The sentiment around Australian wine certainly seems to be a lot more positive. I’m getting a lot of enquiries about expanding our portfolio within existing partnerships so it’s been a worthwhile exercise for us.’

This year, the Wine Australia stand had a dedicated master class area where seven master classes were conducted by visiting and local tutors, including Corinne Mui from the Asia Wine Service and Education Centre and Eddie McDougall, founder of The Flying Winemaker, a local television series and online wine store.

Australian wine also took centre stage on Vinexpo’s Shiraz Day, the exhibition’s first varietal celebration, at key events such as the Breakfast Shiraz Conference and Wine Australia-hosted Shiraz master classes. Following a Shiraz master class, one guest commented that his perception of traditional Australian Shiraz had been challenged by the diversity of the wines he’d tasted throughout the session and he’d been impressed by the quality presented.

This blog provides more information about Vinexpo and you can also watch all the action.