Wine draw blanc for young
Taking it lying down … wine-tasters in Hyde Park.
YOUNG drinkers need to be weaned off alcoholic soda drinks and exposed to wine, winemakers have said.
About 15,000 people gathered in Hyde Park yesterday to sample drops from 103 of the state's viticulturists in the biggest-ever outdoor wine show, sponsored by the Herald's Good Living section.
Australians drink more wine than most English-speaking nations - an average of about 23 litres a person a year - but that number has remained static for a decade. The French quaff about 75 litres each in a year.
"I don't understand why more young people aren't drinking wine when they have money and they are growing up exposed to it by their baby boomer parents who like drinking good wine," said David Lowe, the president of the NSW Winemakers Association.
"They've been exposed to it more than their parents were when they were growing up, but the trend is towards drinking Russkis and bad stuff, so it's a trend we're concerned about."
Yesterday's festival, part of NSW Wine Week, aimed to advertise the breadth of the state's wine production, in an Australian market that has been stereotyped as an unsophisticated haven of heavy reds. Many white wines from the cooler parts of the state, including Orange, New England and the Southern Highlands, were on show for the first time.
An amateur wine taster, Sally Kalantzis, 29, tried several whites from Orange. "You could say they are pretty delicate," she said. "Everything I have tried has had a pretty soft, low-key sort of taste. I'm trying not to swallow too much but it's a temptation."
NSW producers exported about $496 million worth of wine last year, with the state accounting for 30 per cent of Australia's $5 billion wine industry, said the Minister for State Development, Ian Macdonald.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/a-fair-to-remember/2008/03/09/1204998283760.html
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The other reason for this event is the government’s concern that the wine industry research shows that only 13 percent of the wines sold in Sydney restaurants come from NSW. This is despite the fact that the state produces 34 percent of Australian wine. In order to help local producers WineLook is soon to launch a new website www.cabernetsauvignon.com.au to promote Australian Cabernet Sauvignon growing regions, and vineyards.