With Wine Australia reporting a boom in exports across the country, a leading Coonawarra vigneron has urged the region to remained focus on quality to keep up with the flourishing high-end Australian market.
Statistics released for 2018 show an increase of 10pc of total wine exports equaling a total of $2.82b, but the average value was at only $3.32 per litre.
Although wines with higher price points are still improving in sales overseas, wines less than $10 a bottle are dominating the market.
For a wine region focused on high quality produce such as Coonawarra, this has equalled a minimal increase in exports.
Highbank Wines owner Dennis Vice said it was important for the region to stay focused on quality rather than pushing to compete at a cheaper price point.
“For Coonawarra we must protect our price point because our quality is there,” he said.
“For most our wines are a special occasion wine and not necessarily every day so we are able to charge the prices we do.
“The value of the grapes are proportionate to the value of the wine and in Coonawarra we have some of the best.”
At a much higher price point, Coonawarra vignerons chase quality over quantity, meaning less production which has limited export figures.
On average vineyards in the Riverland can produce between 10 to 15 tonnes per acre in comparison to Coonawarra’s three.
Despite the hurdles its faces, the region is highly regarded for its top shelf wines and is in no rush to change that.
Mr Vice said although business was booming for lower quality wines, discounting wines for export would be detrimental to business.
“There are very few wines if any available from Coonawarra under $10 a bottle,” he said.
“Once you discount your wines at export you’ll never get that price point back.
“It’s all over the internet and that is the conundrum we face.”
With the quality of the region’s wines well known in the Australian industry, bottles which may cost $50 at cellar doors are fetching upwards of $130 in top restaurants across our capital cities.
“You have to keep that retail price in Australia representative of the value of the wine inside,” Mr Vice said.
“People know that you pay some of the highest tax in the world on wine here in Australia, so we must continue to keep the value of Coonawarra wines high.”
