WA winery Salitage congratulated on a major wine sale to South Korea

4/11/99
Western Australian winery Salitage has clinched more than $250,000 worth of wine sales to South Korea - the largest export sale ever to come out of the Pemberton region.
Commerce and Trade Minister Hendy Cowan congratulated Salitage on the major sale and said it was testimony to the quality of wines produced in the State's South-West.
"Pemberton, one of our newest wine regions, has producers winning awards in wine shows across Australia," Mr Cowan said.
"Salitage was a pioneer winery in Pemberton and is producing wines that rival the best in Australia. The winery has won recognition for its wines both at home and abroad."
Salitage currently exports to 15 countries, but the South Korean sale is seen as a market breakthrough.
South Korea's 42 million people with their increasingly westernised tastes are a lucrative consumer base.
Their wine market has been dominated by the French. However, at recent tastings, South Koreans gave the nod of approval to what they recognised as the high quality of the Salitage drop.
Exports of Salitage wines will go into five-star hotels, restaurants and premium retail outlets.
Mr Cowan said Salitage had made good use of the department's export market support scheme, which offers financial assistance for the cost of overseas exhibitions.
The department also helped Salitage with a network of relevant trade contacts in Korea and assisted in organising this month's launch of Salitage wines in Seoul.
Mr Cowan said that the success of Salitage in the South Korean market was a good omen for the prospects of other WA winemakers.
"We have got a premium product in this State that competes with the best on an international level," he said.
"The Salitage story demonstrates that a quality product with the right export strategy pays dividends and this should be an encouragement to other WA exporters."
The State exported $13.2 million of wine in 1998-99, an 18 per cent increase on sales from the previous year.
Media contact: Peter Jackson 9222 9595