Alannah MacTiernan, WA Minister for Agriculture and Food, Media Release, 30 September 2021

The McGowan Government continues to support the expansion of the State’s wine industry, backing the local development of three new wine varieties from the Mediterranean – two receiving a medal at a recent Western Australian wine show.

The varieties, grown by grape growers in the Swan Valley, were made into wine at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s wine laboratory in Bunbury.

The department’s tailored wine laboratory enables small volumes of grapes to be made into wine samples for industry evaluation and consumer assessment.

Prosecco, a sparkling white grape variety, and Nero d’Avola, a mid-body red variety, were sourced from Italy while the Mencia variety originates from Spain.

The wines were recently entered in the annual Labelmakers Geographe and WA Alternative Varieties Wine Show, where the Nero d’Avola was awarded a gold medal and the Mencia scored a silver, while the Prosecco received positive comments.

The judges commended the Nero d’Avola’s vibrancy, structured palate with flavours of forest fruits and attractive spice. The Mencia was noted for its fresh red berries, savoury complexity and velvety smooth tannins.

The wines will now be taken to industry workshops with WA wine producers to demonstrate and examine the varieties’ suitability for local production.

The McGowan Government continues to support options to expand the WA wine industry through several initiatives including clonal evaluations, innovative winemaking practices and the WA Wine Industry Export Growth Partnership.

Comments attributed to Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan:

“Our Government is getting behind WA’s wine industry to optimise its potential by investing in scientific research on the ground and cultivating market opportunities.

“The WA wine industry is an important contributor to the State economy worth more than
$700 million and is a key driver in the regional hospitality and tourism sectors.

“We are working with industry to embrace opportunities and new varieties which will help to add value and diversity to the sector.

“The WA Wine Industry Export Growth Partnership is forging inroads to new markets and embracing alternative ways of doing business such as virtual expo spaces, innovative in-market partnerships and promotions.”