Oz wine stuck in quicksand

I focused on how Australia might make more waves in the

premium wine sector, given the current move from surplus to scarcity. But the more I thought about this, the more I realised the problem.

Aside from the fundamental issue that so many of the major competitors, the top Old World wines, are purchased as luxury goods rather than as wines, there is also the problem that the

Australian proposition is ladder-based, and a varietal-based ladder at that.

This was for a while a huge plus: it represented not just a

revolutionary way of marketing wine, but an entirely rational way of encouraging trading up.

But the success of a ladder is dependent on the base staying firm, and what we have now is a ladder that is, in effect, in quicksand, given the jaded image of mainstream Australian wine.

It is no coincidence, now that research indicates that the consumer is no longer buying into the ladder, that those who buy mainstream Australian wines tend to go elsewhere for their premiums.

In addition, the fact that Australian premiums tend to be

overtly varietal implies that they compete with similar varietals from anywhere else in the world.

Look at France, Italy or Spain in comparison. The premiums tend to be generics and the consumer in many instances is not even aware of the varietal. The Old World doesn't have ladders and the premiums can largely avoid any quicksand

at the lower end.

Not only that, but because they tend not to be varietal based they compete at one level within their own appellation rather than globally. And, as we all know, the smaller one's

competitive set the better. Or, to put it another way, marketing is about creating and emphasising points of difference not promoting points of similarity.

My personal experience is that Australian premium wines are better than ever, and there appears to be a vibrancy and

dynamism among the boutique producers, combined with a clear desire by the larger producers to move out of the quicksand.

My visit simply demonstrated to me, therefore, the ongoing divide in the wine business between perception and reality. But

now it appears to be the Australians who are the victims

not the winners.

Michael Paul is managing director of Orbital wines

• Harpers Says...