Cool climate, high altitude seminar challenges perceptions in the UK

More than 30 sommeliers, educators and wine media attended Wine Australia’s cool climate high altitude wines seminar, held earlier this month in London.

Led by Sarah Ahmed, the seminar introduced the United Kingdom (UK) trade to some of Australia’s lesser-known wine regions such as Tumbarumba and New England and highlighted the quality, diversity and terroir of Australian wine.

Over the 2-hour session, guests tasted 12 wines made from different grape varieties and regions with vineyards between 600m and 900m above sea level. The line-up featured – for the first time at a UK trade tasting – a rare Australian Saperavi.

The event challenged perceptions of Australian wine and generated positive feedback and stockist enquires from sommeliers.

Sherry Weng, Managing Director of AOW, said: ‘It was like a journey through Australia, with many surprises, and the quality of wines from cooler climates in Australia stood out. I was impressed by the Cobaw Ridge Syrah and that Saperavi can perform so well in Australia.’

Beth Pearce, Buyer at Majestic Wine, said: ‘Discussions about cool climate Australia often focus on coastal influences and regions like Tasmania and Mornington, so to take a fresh look at cool climates from a high altitude perspective was really interesting. Sarah Ahmed did a great job of showing the topographical history and the stories of the individual growers, and the wines were fantastic. I don't think anyone would have picked the snowy vineyard scene as being three hours north of Brisbane!’

Read more about the seminar here.