Wine Australia led the Australian contingent of 63 wineries from 31 wine regions to Hong Kong last week for Vinexpo Asia, the leading trade exhibition for wine and spirits professionals in the region.
Vinexpo Asia 2024 brought together more than 14,000 trade visitors from 60 countries, who had the opportunity to engage with exhibitors from around the world over three days.
The Australian Wine Pavilion is a firm fixture at the event and offers a vital opportunity for wine producers to showcase their brands to the most influential buyers, importers, distributors, producers, sommeliers, and merchants from around the world,
Wine Australia General Manager, Marketing, Paul Turale said the activities around the pavilion supported Australian wineries to build connections to help unlock the growing opportunities across markets in Asia.
"In-person connections are so important for our sector and it's been heartening to see such a strong interest from the trade in the diversity and quality of Australian wine over the three days," he said.
"There is a real sense of optimism about the opportunities for Australian wine in Asia – it's a hopeful and exciting time for Australian wine producers."
Mr Turale said the new Australian Wine national branding was also previewed at Vinexpo.
"The national brand encapsulates the adventure and diversity of Australian winemaking and it was great to see this applied across the pavilion and in supporting regional and wine brand assets at Vinexpo," he said.
Australian exhibitors at Vinexpo Asia 2024 said:
Kim Chalmers – Chalmers Wines, Vic
"This is our first time at Vinexpo Asia. It's been a really great experience to try and understand the big complex market that is Asia. We've been impressed with our visitors from mainland China who are so excited to have new, different Australian wines back and we've also been excited to learn that there is a thirst for understanding the diversity of Australian wine."
Paul McArdle – Small Wonder, Tas, and Wayfinder, WA
"The numbers and the diversity of cultures and countries at Vinexpo Asia is overwhelming. We've certainly had a lot of interest out of mainland China but also out of South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. It feels a bit like the old days where there is very good representation and a strong presence of Australian wine and a strong interest in Australian wine. So that all goes well for our export markets. Fingers crossed. We await the orders."
Bruce Tyrrell – Tyrrell's Wines, NSW
"Our experience here at Vinexpo Asia has been terrific and well above our expectations. The one thing that has stood out during the past three days is that the locals are happy to see us back. We've drawn the crowds of people who have attended and want to put us back into the marketplace. I think this will be a great boon for the whole of the Australian wine industry. In terms of being here on the Australian Wine Pavilion, I think is very important that we are all together."
Lyndall Rowe – Riverland Wine, SA
"We've had a really busy time on the pavilion and there is an amazing sense of excitement about being here from our producers who have attended but also from the people visiting. Deals have been done. There's a lot of interest in our wine. For Riverland Wine to be part of the Australian Wine Pavilion has been a really positive experience. We have a cohort of eight producers that have come with us this time to this event. It's most we have ever had and there's a really positive feeling around the new branding for Wine Australia."
Wine Australia's masterclass schedule and full list of exhibitors is available here.
