Wine Australia’s US Market Entry Program gets a boost

New investments into Wine Australia’s US Market Entry Program maximise opportunities for Australian wineries to enter the world’s biggest wine market.

South Australian Department for Trade and Investment, Wine Victoria, and Wines of Western Australia will assist wineries to take up the program, which helps to guide compliance, pricing, logistics, and marketing, as well as assisting wineries to find US importers, brokers, or direct import orders with retailers.

Through the new investments, wineries in South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia can recover 50 percent of the participation fee for the program.

In the 2023–24 Market Entry Program, the Government of South Australia will fund 50 percent of participation costs for 30 places, Wine Victoria for 20, and Wines of Western Australia for five.

Wine Australia Regional General Manager Americas Aaron Ridgway said the successful wineries would benefit from the current growth and premiumisation of the Australian category in the US.

"We're delighted to have the support from the South Australian Department for Trade and Investment, Wine Victoria and Wines of Western Australia to help wineries enter this highly competitive market," he said.

"The timing has never been better. More Australian wineries are exporting to the US than there have been in more than ten years, including at higher price points, contributing to a more diverse, premium and resilient category. This is also helping to demonstrate the variety of wine from Australia. As recently noted in the annual Australian report of the US magazine Wine Spectator, ‘Australia is putting its better foot forward – and it’s up to us to pay attention.’”

Wine Australia’s Market Entry Program has a successful track record for matching wineries with US sales partners and securing retail opportunities. Former participants used the program as a springboard to build their presence and are now well-established in the US market.

In 2022, Australian wine exports to the US increased by 13 percent in volume to 140 million litres, and it remains Australia's largest export market by value, at AUD$390 million.

Wineries seeking to participate in the US Market Entry Program visit wineaustralia.com to submit an expression of interest by 31 March 2023.