By Kelly Burke
THE strong dollar and changing palates have transformed Australia's drinking habits.
Sales of imported wines have more than doubled in the past five years and have increased more than six times in the past 10 years.
Wine imports.
New Zealand wines, led by Marlborough sauvignon blanc, still dominate, holding 70 per cent of the import market. At the end of last year, sales of New Zealand white wine increased 16 per cent over the previous year, although the average value a litre dropped 13 per cent.
New Zealand's closest rival in the white wine import market, France, had a 7 per cent increase. Consumption of Italian and Spanish still wines jumped by 34 per cent and 88 per cent. Portuguese wine increased 55 per cent.
President of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Sommeliers Association Ben Moechtar said the days of sticking to a safe chardonnay, riesling, cabernet or shiraz were gone.
''Australians are becoming better educated about varieties of grapes most of us hadn't even heard of just a few years ago,'' he said. ''Our palates have evolved.''
He said restaurants were leading the way in encouraging more adventurous choices, although the growth of large supermarket liquor barns such as Dan Murphy's was also having an effect, with parallel importing bringing in quality overseas wines for half the previous price.
Some retailers are resisting the trend.
At the Hive Bar in Erskineville, Sydney, all liquor sold is Australian, including the beer.
Hive's general manager, Brett Strauss, said a ''buy local'' ethos meant the business sourced 70 per cent of its wine list from NSW alone.
''The quality of Australian wine is just as good if not better,'' he said.
''We don't need to look to overseas when we have so much in our back garden.''