South Australian wines were proudly poured at the 2019 Adelaide Wine Festival this weekend. Some of the best wineries of the state came together; filling red, white and rosé coloured glasses with the intent to build a stronger international bond between Australia and China. What better way to celebrate future growth within wine tourism than to showcase over 48 local vineyards and distilleries from across the Barossa and McLaren Vale regions.

International investors, daring distributors and local lovers of Adelaide’s best barrels were all welcomed to attend in support of our wine industry as it breaks down global borders. The goal of the day was to encourage change and diversity across Australia’s food and wine landscape.

Producers passionately celebrated each of their wines and selected spirits with extensive knowledge during a tasting. Wholesale information was available at every stall with Chinese ambassadors representing the vineyards for each exhibiting estate. This brought guests of the day a cross-cultural cellar door experience under the one roof. A great way to get the communities feeling connected through this tell-all trade show event.

A few of the exhibiting wineries included: Orchid Wine Estate, Australian Ozyard Vineyard, Woodstock Wine Estate, Burge Family, Three Kangaroos, Heartland Wines, Murray Street Vineyard, Maxwell, Axiom, Belvidere, Penny Hills, Fox Creek, Langmeil, Paracombe, GNT Fine Wine, Cooper Burns, and Furche Wine.

All of this was made possible by the Australian Wine and Spirit Association (AWSA), who have been running this event for two years now. They hope to help build more successful wine experiences for our international visitors. Master of wines, Rob Geddes spoke on behalf of AWSA before the event “I am excited to see this opportunity evolve into a lasting exchange… uniting South Australia wine producers and their Chinese trade customers” Some might say they have the right fermentation formula in place, with this forum fostering over 100 Chinese delegates. They have estimated these connections to bring millions of dollars in wine sales for South Australian Wineries.

We are welcoming The Adelaide Wine Festival to grow its vines over our most favourable annual event calendar. This would be growing alongside the Cellar Door Wine Fest and Barossa Vintage Festival, both of which have a national pull for tourism to Adelaide. The Adelaide Wine Festival bids to go one step further and encourage global traction, venturing forward to fill the highly anticipated talk of an international festival.

The future is exciting for Australian wine companies. The Adelaide Wine Festival brings many opportunities for expansion with its well-informed Chinese delegates who will return home promoting tourism for South Australia.

Words by Leesha McGuiness