The Wine Australia China Awards last night honoured wine trade professionals who have made outstanding contributions to promoting and raising awareness of Australian wine in China.
The sixth annual awards recognised importers, distributors, sommeliers, educators and media who have contributed to Australia’s powerful presence in the world’s fastest-growing wine market.
This year’s ‘Australian Wine Made Our Way’ branded event was bigger and bolder than ever with the support of the Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package (the $50m Package).
The red-carpet gala dinner attracted more than 200 guests, including a record 60+ Chinese and international media who gathered at the Bvlgari Hotel in Shanghai for a celebration of Australian wine.
Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said, “China is our number one wine export market by value and these awards reflect our appreciation and gratitude to the trade for helping us achieve such widespread recognition and respect for Australian wine.
“This strong growth is the result of a lot of hard work by Australia’s wine exporters and is a testament to the support of trade professionals, educators and media championing Australian wine in China.”
Wine Australia’s Regional General Manager North Asia David Lucas said, “We are celebrating really impressive growth for Australian wine in China with exports increasing by 24 percent, to the value of AU$1.06 billion.
“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our friends and colleagues in the trade for their amazing support in helping us get where we are today. Thanks to this support, the future of Australian wine is looking very bright in China.”
Awards
Best Australian Wine List (sponsored by KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show)
Jing An Shangri-La West Shanghai
Best Australian Wine Promotional Campaign – on premise
Kerry Wines
Best Australian Wine Promotional Campaign – Online Stores
ASC Fine Wines
Best Australian Wine Educator (sponsored by Barossa Wine School)
Dorian Tang
Best Feature Story on Australian Wine – Consumer Media
CEO WORLD
Best Feature Story on Australian Wine – Trade Media
Wine Missionary by Terry Xu
Online Wine Communicator of the Year (sponsored by McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association)
Karla Wang (Lady Penguin)
Online Food and Wine Communicator of the Year (sponsored by Tourism Australia)
Eva Xie
Dorian Tang said, “What excites me about Australian wine is the combination of traditional winemaking, innovative techniques and passionate winemakers.”
Awards judge and Master Sommelier Lu Yang, founder of Grapea & Co said, “On the consumer level, numbers don’t lie: both volume and value have been increasing tremendously in China… and the expansion of the China Awards each year reflects this growth. Without this growth, the expansion of this event from a small cocktail party to a gala dinner would not have been possible.”
The Wine Australia China Awards were held on the eve of the ProWine China wine fair in Shanghai.
Recent Comments