Visiting and working in Australia

So, you want to visit Australia?

Great! 

Australia is a sophisticated, global market for fine wine. It's about the size of Canada or the Netherlands, and rewards producers that work hard to establish their relationships here. In short, it can be worth the effort to visit and make connections with sommeliers, retailers and writers here. It's also a fantastic place for a holiday.

For many, visiting Australia is a dream. We enjoy introducing your wines and your stories to our customers, and would be happy to talk further about planning your visit. 

Imported wine has steadily grown in volume in the last two decades. Driven mostly by New Zealand until recently -   current growth is mainly in French and Italian wine.
(Volume of wine imported to Australia, million litres)

A sunset cruise on Sydney Harbour is always a highlight

A tasting with trade customers is an important way to communicate your wines

Example Itinerary

We suggest one week of work with us in the trade. This can be in the three major cities - Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, or a combination of just one or two. (Brisbane is the smallest city, but still a vibrant market to visit). It's possible to visit the cities in any order, but below is a suggestion that has worked previously. 

It is best to allow at least one more week to enjoy Australia, maybe as a few days in Sydney before the first day of trade work, and maybe a few days in Queensland to visit the Great Barrier Reef after Brisbane. You could easily spend a month or more if you wanted to visit the wine growing regions through Victoria and South Australia, or even Margaret River in Western Australia. 

The best time to enjoy Australia is in the long summer months, as well as Spring. This includes October and November, or February to April. 

Monday - Sydney 
AM - Meeting with Fesq & Company team for tasting
PM - Visiting with key customers in market
PM - Dinner with customers and Fesq team, or Harbour Cruise

Tuesday - Sydney
AM - Visiting with key customers in market
PM - Masterclass with sommeliers
PM - Tasting with private clients & retailer

Wednesday - Melbourne
AM - Fly to Melbourne
AM - Meeting with Fesq & Company team for tasting
PM - Visiting with key customers in market
PM - Tasting with private clients & retailer

Thursday - Melbourne
AM - Visiting with key customers in market
PM - Masterclass with sommeliers

Friday - Brisbane
AM - Visiting with key customers in market 
PM - Tasting with private clients & retailer

Saturday - Brisbane
PM - Tasting with private clients & retailer

A dinner with customers in a friendly Sydney bistro

Expectations and arrangements

We are happy to share in the responsibilities and work required to have a successful visit to our market. We offer to cover the costs of events, wines and meals while you are with us in the market. We expect the winery to cover their own travel and accommodation costs. Together, we find this works well.

Travelling around Australia

One of the main reasons to visit Australia is to see the vast and complex landscape. To don't be fooled, Australia is very big. This one country is the size of Western Europe, and you need to get used to very long travel times when you move within Australia. You can fly for five hours, and still only go from Sydney to Perth.

If you do want to get a taste of the wine growing regions, then the most accessible are those around Melbourne, including Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Geelong. Slightly further are the famous regions in South Australia - (Adelaide is a short flight from Melbourne). From Adelaide you can visit Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale quite easily.

We have extensive relationships with the iconic wineries in Australia, and are happy to help you make appointments to visit them.

Around Melbourne alone, there are 15+ unique wine regions to visit

Who to contact? If you'd like to talk more about joining us in Australia, please reach out. Thanks, David Fesq. dfesq@fesq.com.au

or

Marketing@fesq.com.au
Grafitto@fesq.com.au