Tell us about your career in wine to date?
I started my career in wine in New York for Kobrand which gave me a good understanding of the global industry as I was a brand manager for wines from across New Zealand, Chile, France and California. I then spent many years in marketing roles in house for wineries back in Australia and then established Wine Intelligence in Australia and NZ, I've always been very curious about consumer behaviour and the ever evolving role that global wine consumers play in the success of a wine brand or category.
Stephanie Duboudin, chief executive of Wine Victoria, sets out its export vision for the coming years
I also spent seven years working with Decanter, managing insights projects and marketing the Decanter World wine awards and Asian wine awards for Australia and Asian countries.
Why did you want to work for Wine Victoria?
It's such a great opportunity to represent the interests of the Victorian wine industry to government and it’s a role where it’s quite fulfilling in that you can run programs that can provide benefit to wineries across export, viticulture, winemaking and capability building.
What were the key targets and goals for you when you joined?
Advocating for more government funding to run export programs to benefit our wineries and ensure that we proving good value to our members.
What have been your key steps taken so far in achieving those goals?
Securing a two year export grant for A$3.8m across the UK, the US and Asia and a program focused on sustainability and climate change adaption from the state Government of Victoria.
We are also working with the Victorian government on a new five-year strategic plan for the Victorian wine industry. The strategic plan is focused on what the industry needs now to ensure that we are future focused on staying ahead of the game on changing consumer behaviour trends, product innovation, climate adaption and ESG factors.
What have been the biggest challenges in your role and how are you overcoming them ?
Wine Victoria believes it has the diversity of wines to offer buyers such a wide choice of wines to invest in
It's a challenging operating environment right now and budgets are tight so it's been critically important to ensure that we are providing strong return on investment for our members. As well as making sure the programs that we are running are providing strong measurable results it's also been critically important that our communication is delivering as effectively as possible.
Everyone is busy and have demands on their time so we've needed to adapt the way we communicate to ensure that members are receiving the information they need in the most powerful way.
What do you see as the big selling and marketing points for Wine Victoria to focus on?
We are the third of the size of France and have 21 wine regions. Our compact state is home to a dizzying array of wine styles thanks to our wide and varied geology, geography and climates. We produce amazing quality Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet that totally over delivers in quality for the price point compared to our Northern Hemisphere competitors.
How well do you think the region is known and understood outside Australia?
Awareness of regions is challenging but a common message we are hearing from buyers and media in the UK is that Victorian wines are well positioned in the UK market today. The wines we make, compared to some other parts of Australia, are aligning better with today's consumer - lighter in alcohol, refined wine styles such as Pinot Noir, cool climate Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet.
How do you go about changing those perceptions and raising the awareness?
Wine Victoria is working with the state government to secure funding to help it grow its exports
Increasing visibility and awareness of Victorian wines via programs enabling wineries to access new export markets. Also influencing the influencers, particularly key members of the trade through activities such as hosting buyers in Victoria
What steps are you taking around promoting sustainability and promoting biodiversity?
It's such a critical area. At Wine Victoria we have been running programs to support Victorian wineries to attain the Sustainable Winegrowers Australia certification. It's the Australian industry certification and we are super committed to ensuring Victorian wineries are at the forefront of sustainability.
Are you looking to get buyers out to the region and if so what sort of programmes do you run?
Yes through our current export program we have a whole program of inbound buyer and media trips out to Victoria. They are a key part of our program and I have certainly witnessed first-hand the powerful impact that visiting our regions has on a visitor.
If someone is interested in coming to the region what is the best way for them to go about it?
To contact us if they are interested, we are always keen to host buyers and media. We have 21 wine regions covering a diverse range of climatic conditions producing sparkling through to fortified. We can work with them to find out what they are interested in and assist with an amazing itinerary.
* To find out more about Wine Victoria, the work it does and its export strategy go to its website here.
