If ever South Australia’s place as the home of the Australian wine industry was in doubt, a recent communication from the office of its Minister for Tourism trumpets that the state accounts for more than 70% of Australia’s wine exports, 43% of its vineyards, and attracts more than 900,000 visitors each year to its cellar doors, generating $342 million in the process. Also to emerge from this release is that with 60% of all cellar door visits, the Barossa is the state’s most visited region, 78% of visitors were on day trips and wine tasting was (not unexpectedly) the principal motive for attending cellar doors. Although it’s typically more expensive to buy wine at cellar door than at retail, 80% of visitors intended purchasing wine on their visits, and 85% of all visitors are employed in professional or white-collar occupations. Interestingly, only 40% of visitors were satisfied with the availability of food at cellar doors.
