Raise a glass to SA wine
South Australia’s 18 wine regions will be celebrated with a year-long campaign designed to encourage visitors to raise a glass, buy local and embrace wine festivals across the state.
The “2021 Year of South Australian Wine” campaign – launched today by wine icons Chester Osborne of d'Arenberg, Justine Henschke of Henschke and Kate Laurie of Deviation Road – aims to drive both sales and visitation to local wineries who have been hit hard by the double blow of bushfires and COVID-19.
It brings a series of regional cellar door shows, wine making classes, hands-on experiences, music and food festivals, and gourmet events into a statewide cheers to all things wine.
Co-ordinated by the South Australian Tourism Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), the campaign will create a year of must-see wine events, additional marketing support for wine regions and provide wineries with a toolkit to help grow their businesses.
Premier Steven Marshall said today that with more than 200 cellar doors located within an hour’s drive of Adelaide, and with limited interstate travel currently on the agenda, now is a perfect time to discover South Australia’s world class wine regions.
“South Australia is indisputably Australia’s wine state, producing 50% of all bottled wine and almost 80% of premium wine. Wine is massive part of our state’s character, is a significant economic and cultural asset, and a major employer,” he said.
“Nearly one quarter of all day-trip visitors undertake an activity that involves visiting a winery, which is great for our regional communities, our primary producers and wineries.
“Events are recognised to grow visitation and spend, and further contribute to the wine experiences on offer. Our aim is to grow these events, encourage our wine regions to be creative and innovative at their cellar doors and ultimately drive wine tourism, and boost economic spend in SA’s wine regions.”
Across the state, there are more than 350 cellar doors, with each of the 11 tourism regions home to at least one winery. Tasting Australia, which launches in April, is also another opportunity to showcase wine events and tourism, with drinks curator Nick Stock and key wine ambassadors expected to add further impetus to the campaign.
Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Mr David Basham said the year-long celebration of wine is complementary to Adelaide’s inclusion in the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, a group of international cities whose wine regions are recognised as significant economic and cultural assets.
“Wine is central to South Australia’s story – a source of immense local pride and a key industry in the Food, Wine and Agribusiness Growth State Plan,” he said.
“We know that in order to grow the revenue of this sector to $23 billion by 2030 we need to support innovation and opportunities.
“We’re very keen to work with the SATC and wine regions to shine a spotlight on all of the incredibly creative wine producers, and the terrific work they do.”
South Australian Wine Industry Association president Nick Waterman said the triple impact of bushfires, COVID-19 and changes to international tariffs mean “the wine regions of SA are hurting”.
“With the prospect of little international travel before the end of 2021 the Year of South Australia Wine initiative is a welcome boost to our SA wine industry,” he said.
“It will drive people into regions, connect them with wineries, the onsite experiences they offer as well as regional food and tourism businesses.”
The 2021 Year of South Australian Wine kicks off this weekend with ‘Crush Festival’ in the Adelaide Hills.
For more information on other South Australian events, and to see the full calendar of events, visit southaustralia.com