While I see absolutely nothing wrong in Southcorp’s recently publicised intentions to get into the segment of the American wine market created by Yellow Tail and subsequently followed by brands like Crocodile Rock, Thirsty Lizard and Black Swan, I am still scratching my head over the choice of the Little Penguin species to epitomise all things Australian in that market. It can truthfully be said that the overall awareness of where Australia is and what it is like is not especially high in the minds of most Americans. Yes, there is an increasing level of awareness in the US, but what there recognition there is would tend to (not entirely incorrectly) place Australia as a large, hot and dry place populated by kangaroos and lizards (and even crocodiles and swans). Not exactly the sort of place you’d expect to come across a penguin, even if in some parts of southern Victoria you can see them race across beaches in twighlight hours. My gut feeling is that people are more likely to associate penguins with the South Pole than Australia. Southcorp will launch its Little Penguin range of chardonnay, shiraz, cabernet and merlot, within the next few months. I wish them well, but I think they will have a lot of explaining to do!
