SYDNEY, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian winemaker Taylors have been awarded the 2016 Wine of The Year by the World Association of Wine Writers and Journalists for their 2012 St Andrews Shiraz.
The Clare Valley producer in South Australia is also in the top five for the most awarded wineries in the world, recently celebrating its 200th gold medal in international wine competitions.
"Taylors has a rich heritage in the Australian wine industry," Mitchell Taylor, managing director and winemaker for Taylors Wines, told Xinhua.
"When my grandfather first founded our winery in 1969, he set out to create an Australian wine that could rival some of the best in the world, and I am proud to say that today we're continuing his legacy with some of the best wines we've ever made."
"For three generations, our philosophy has been to respect the incredible fruit that comes out of our vineyard."
Founded in 1996, the World Association of Wine Writers and Journalists consists of 13,500 wine journalists, bloggers and judges from 80 different countries with the purpose of creating a ranking system for the numerous wine shows and competitions held around the world.
With Taylors huge success globally, the company sees China as its "number one growth market."
"China is extremely important to our business," Taylor said.
"We see a lot of opportunity, especially in Mainland China (the Chinese mainland), which has grown by 43 percent in the past year for Australian wineries."
During the preceding two years, the number of people in China buying imported wine grew by 10 million.
Taylor believes that given this incredible growth, there is massive potential for premium Australian wines.
"We feel the Chinese consumer really understands and appreciates our wines."
They're sophisticated, they're open to many styles of wines, particularly the more fruit forward varieties and styles that match well with the many different kinds of Chinese cuisines," Taylor said.
