Australian fine wines are world-class. So why don’t they dominate our drinks lists?

Australia is the most exciting wine-producing country in the world, according to US-based wine importer and sommelier Jane Lopes.

“But it could sometimes do a better job of self-promotion,” she says.

Lopes and sommelier husband Jonathan Ross wrote the award-winning book How to Drink Australian after falling for our wine while living and working here.

“Every time we are back in Australia and immersed in this country’s wines, we are reminded of how world-class they are,” says the former wine director at Melbourne fine-diner Attica.

“Australia is at a perfect nexus right now of tradition and innovation, and the wines are just on fire. It’s exciting.”

The problem is, many Australians are simply unaware of how good they have it.

Nashville-based Lopes and Ross are amazed by how few Australian wine lists feature domestic wines in meaningful ways.

‘Australia is at a perfect nexus right now of tradition and innovation, and the wines are just on fire. It’s exciting.’

Sommelier Jane Lopes

According to alcohol industry analysts IWSR, domestic wine accounts for 80 per cent of the volume of wine consumed within Australia, considering both retail and hospitality industry sales.

Yet, only 11.2 per cent of the wines on Sydney lists are from NSW, while 46 per cent of the listings are imported from overseas, according to a report by Wine Business Solutions, a business management consultancy.

In Melbourne, 30 per cent of restaurant wine listings are sourced from Victoria, the report found.

German-born sommelier Lisa Guenther-Strauss believes Australians take local wines for granted.

“In France, Italy, and even Germany, they serve their own wine,” she says. “There is no way you would ask for an international wine in France. They’re proud of their own produce. I don’t know why we don’t do that more here.”

But Guenther-Strauss and husband Saxon are doing their bit for the cause. At their recently opened wine bar and art space, The Art Syndicate in Sydney’s Surry Hills, the list is entirely devoted to NSW, making theirs one of the few Sydney venues to do so.

Doubling as an art space, the 25-seat wine bar offers 21 wines by the glass.

“When I moved here in 2016, I immediately started doing road trips to beautiful wine regions like Orange and Mudgee,” says Guenther-Strauss, who has worked for Merivale’s Mimi’s in Coogee, Etymon Projects’ Charles Grand Brasserie & Bar, and Rockpool Dining Group.

“Hunter Valley is beautiful and is the oldest wine region in Australia, but there are 15 more to explore. It bothered me that we live in NSW, but at most restaurants there were maybe four or five local bottles on the list and nothing by the glass. So, I decided to do our own thing, go small but personal.”

Loic Avril, the head sommelier at Society restaurant in Melbourne’s Collins Street, oversees a 10,000-bottle cellar. The Frenchman is head of wine at Lucas Restaurants, which last year won four titles at the World of Fine Wine Awards, an international wine list competition.

“Across the board, I think Australia is producing more ‘world stage’ wines now, from west to east,” Avril says. “In particular, Australia is producing some of the best chardonnays in the world.”

Society’s star-studded list showcases Australian wines alongside benchmark international examples.

“We want to showcase a range of very small growers to top star producers and try to provide a vertical of vintages to help diners understand how those wines are positioned on the world stage,” Avril says.

Hungarian-born, Adelaide-based fine wine and hospitality consultant Marcell Kustos says Australians don’t realise how special some of our wines are.

The winemaker and sommelier is a huge fan of Australian chardonnay.

“They represent exceptional quality and value, especially considering the prices of Burgundy or California,” Kustos says.

“The reality is, in the $30 to $50 price range, one of the best wines you will find is chardonnay, especially in terms of consistent quality and a consistent drinking experience. And I’d go as far as [saying] our ultra-premium examples are some of the most exciting wines in the world of fine wine right now.”