South Australian top-shelf wine on show to international ambassadors

08 May 2023
International wine importers from Singapore, Hong Kong, and New Zealand will experience South Australia’s wine regions and wines first-hand during a four-day visit to the State.
  
Members of the South Australian Wine Ambassadors Club (SAWAC) – a state government initiative – will tour wine country in the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Barossa; and get an immersive experience of top-shelf wines from Langhorne Creek, the Riverland, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Mount Benson and Padthaway.
  
Club ambassadors will get to experience firsthand South Australia’s proud history of producing premium wine and what our world-class wine regions have to offer visiting iconic venues including the d’Arenberg Cube, Mt Lofty House and the Barossa Wine Vault.
  
SAWAC consists of 27 international wine importers raising the global profile of South Australian wine in key overseas markets. The program also showcases South Australia’s world-class wine at events and masterclasses and on retailers' shelves overseas.
  
SAWAC was launched as part of the Government’s Wine Export Recovery and Expansion Program and to aid in the growth of wine exports to emerging markets.
  
Since its commencement, club ambassadors across five chapters, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, have already assisted new South Australian wine brands to market.
  
The club is led by patrons and renowned wine writers James Halliday AM and Tony Love, who have already delivered unique member experiences through educational masterclasses and bespoke communications for the importing community.
  
South Australian wine exports were valued at $1.3 billion in the year ending March 2023 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, making up 65 per cent of the total value of Australian wine exports.

In the year ending March 2023, wine exports to Singapore ($118.6 million), Hong Kong ($152.7 million) and New Zealand ($72 million) combined were valued at $343.4 million and represented 26 per cent of South Australia’s total wine export value.