It's a warm, spring late-afternoon in Amsterdam, and an Aussie tourist seeks out a glass of something chilled and white. To their pleasant surprise it's a chardonnay from South Australia, its palate full of crisp apple and trademark fresh acidity. It hits the spot.
Meanwhile, wine drinkers in Bangkok and Singapore are enjoying the same glass of Aussie viticultural elegance, and bit by bit the wine export rebound is gathering shape.
Even though the amount of Australian wine we sell overseas continues to trend down, a clutch of new and uncharted markets is opening up for savvy winemakers offering contemporary, food-friendly reds and whites to appreciative audiences.
The level of exports to China, once the backbone of the industry, remains little more than a third of what it was just a few years ago, but Canadians, Malaysians and even Caribbean consumers are picking up some of the slack.
A boutique winemaker such as South Australia's Zonte's Footstep has found serious openings in Canada, Singapore and the Netherlands, to the point that 60 per cent of its wine now heads overseas to discerning markets lapping up a new wave of Aussie styles.
South Australia Zonte Footstep
Zonte's Apple Betty Adelaide Hills Chardonnay is its most prolifically exported white wine, but happily for our readers the winery has enough locally to offer this crisp, juicy chardy as part of this special offer case from The Australian Wine Club.
It's an all-chardonnay line-up, also including the 2022 Coppabella Sirius Tumbarumba Chardonnay, which rates 94 points (and a gold medal) from Wine Showcase Magazine, and Bleasdale's Adelaide Hills Chardonnay.
Alongside those two is the Josef Chromy Marchington Tasmania Chardonnay, and the dozen costs just $27.99 a bottle - discounted by almost 30 per cent.
The secret to the Apple Betty success, according to Zonte's vigneron, Brad Rey, is in finding audiences of knowledgeable, appreciative wine lovers and delivering varietals that strike a modern chord.
"We like to say we're like an 18ft skiff fighting the aircraft carriers in the Australian industry, but still we don't really tend to go away from picking brighter, crunchier, fruit-expressive styles," Rey, who moved from Canada to Australia more than 25 years ago, says.
Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
"By picking at that lower pH, with higher acidity, it's a style where we can actually make less oak contact on our wines so that they live fresher and longer in the bottle - and they're food-friendly.
"At the end of the day, as someone from the northern hemisphere, I'm really passionate about educating the world about the diversity and the history of what we've done in Australia from a wine point of view.
"I always say that our wines have personality, you know, reflecting that relationship between the soil and the grape variety that we're growing, and that's what I focus on: nurturing that personality.
"Rather than trying to bend its will into something that it isn't, I want to make a more drinkable, balanced and expressive style of wine."
Zonte's Footstep Apple Betty Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2024
Summer may have ended but it lingers here in a nose drenched in peach and melon, apple pie and streaks of vanilla and nougat. The palate shows how aptly this was named, suffused with those ripe pink lady apple flavours, some oak and a hint of vanilla and spice behind the crisp acidity. 94 points, Winepilot. 12.5% alc, RRP $35 a bottle.
Australian Wine Club
SPECIALS $31.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $27.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen.
Josef Chromy Marchington Tasmania Chardonnay 2024
The palest of pale straw hue in your glass hints at a delicate, pure nose that offers stone fruit such as yellow nectarine and apricot, subtle florals and a hint of tropicality as it warms. The fruit on the textured palate is more overt, with citrus and pineapple, balanced with a steely acidity and a long finish. Some fresh Bruny Island oysters would keep things local and lovely. 13% alc, RRP $40 a bottle.
SPECIALS $35.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $27.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen.
Bleasdale Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2024
Close your eyes and take a moment to breathe in deeply the luscious, leap-from-the-glass aromas that are almost tingly fresh. Vanilla ice cream and sweet lemon sorbet are flecked with herbaceous notes and white pepper, even before you get to the delicious, rich palate full of dreamy, creamy oak, nectarine and cashew flavours, and a superbly fresh acidity. 92 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 12.5% alc, RRP $39 a bottle.
SPECIALS $34.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $27.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen.
Coppabella Sirius Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2022
Halliday Wine Companion
You just know a Tumbarumba chardy will be well-bred, and the cool-climate calibre here doesn't disappoint. The nose is almost prim, with green apple, nectarine and cashew notes, but the crisp acidity on the palate delivers poise and sophistication with grilled peach, pineapple and some nutty complexity. 94 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 12.5% alc, RRP $45 a bottle.
SPECIALS $38.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $27.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen.
CHARDONNAY DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $27.99. SAVE $141.
Order online or phone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST and quote 'ACCJ'. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550. Stockhead is partnering with The Australian Wine Club on this offer.
We like to say we're like an 18ft skiff fighting the aircraft carriers in the Australian industry, but still we don't really tend to go away from picking brighter, crunchier, fruit-expressive styles.
Why this lands now
Whether it is a new format, a revived classic or a regional speciality, the question that decides its fate is usually the same: does it survive its first summer?
Key takeaways
- Wine drinkers in Bangkok and Singapore are enjoying the same glass of Aussie viticultural elegance, and bit by bit the wine export rebound is gathering shape
- Even though the amount of Australian wine we sell overseas continues to trend down, a clutch of new and uncharted markets is opening up for savvy winemakers offering contemporary, food-friendly reds and whites to appreciative audiences
- Alongside those two is the Josef Chromy Marchington Tasmania Chardonnay, and the dozen costs just $27.99 a bottle - discounted by almost 30 per cent
- The secret to the Apple Betty success, according to Zonte's vigneron, Brad Rey, is in finding audiences of knowledgeable, appreciative wine lovers and delivering varietals that strike a modern chord
- "By picking at that lower pH, with higher acidity, it's a style where we can actually make less oak contact on our wines so that they live fresher and longer in the bottle - and they're food-friendly
The numbers worth knowing
- It's an all-chardonnay line-up, also including the 2022 Coppabella Sirius Tumbarumba Chardonnay, which rates 94 points (and a gold medal) from Wine Showcase Magazine, and Bleasdale's Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
- Zonte's Footstep Apple Betty Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2024
- 12.5% alc, RRP $35 a bottle
- SPECIALS $31.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $27.99 a bottle in chardonnay dozen
- Josef Chromy Marchington Tasmania Chardonnay 2024
Common questions
What should you know about Australian Wine Club?
Zonte's Apple Betty Adelaide Hills Chardonnay is its most prolifically exported white wine, but happily for our readers the winery has enough locally to offer this crisp, juicy chardy as part of this special offer case from The Australian Wine Club.
What happens next?
Even though the amount of Australian wine we sell overseas continues to trend down, a clutch of new and uncharted markets is opening up for savvy winemakers offering contemporary, food-friendly reds and whites to appreciative audiences.
In short
As always on the drinks list, the gap between what gets announced and what actually reaches people is where the real story will be decided.