South Australian winemaker Ashley Ratcliff says while Riverland wines can be found in high-end venues from Sydney to New York, the hardest place to buy them is in his own backyard.
The Ricca Terra farms director is pushing for pubs and clubs in the region to list more local wines on their menus.
"If you're in the Barossa, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills — actually, probably most wine grape growing regions around the world, a vast majority of wines would be local," Mr Ratcliff said.
"So if we can get 50 per cent [Riverland wine on menus], that's a huge achievement."
Targeting tourists
Mallee Estate winemaker Jim Markeas said his family had been proudly making Riverland wines for 25 years but the region had a case of tall poppy syndrome.
His family runs a restaurant and cellar door in the town of Renmark, which was named the state's top tourism town by the Tourism Industry Council of South Australia.
Mr Markeas said improving the availability of local wines was integral to promoting the region as a destination.
"When your family and friends are visiting ... you take them to the local pub, or your favourite restaurant, and [when] they've got a local product there you have a pleasant experience," Mr Markeas said.
Second generation grape grower Yianni Koutouzis said when he first started drinking local wine, it was out of a flagon with no label at the family dinner table.
"[The Riverland] wasn't really considered a really big wine region when I was growing up as a kid on the farm," he said.
Mr Koutouzis said while the local wine centre had stocked his 68 Roses label for a while, he had just secured supply to a major bottle shop chain.
"They were really looking for good quality local wines because the demand was quite strong — especially from tourists," he said.
Consumer revolution
Mr Ratcliff said some businesses had been supportive of Riverland producers but more effort was needed to showcase the region's quality wines.
He said consumers should vote with their feet if venues were unable to stock local wine.
Berri Hotel general manager Jeremy Sweet said consumer preferences and prices were barriers to stocking a better ratio of local wines.
He said customers often preferred traditional varieties such as shiraz and big brand names.
"But lately, with a lot more tourists coming through the area, we go into more of the lighter style ones that sell quite well," Mr Sweet said.
"One of our local wines by the glass is one of our most popular and we do that at a [good] price point."
"[But] it's always going to be a harder thing for the boutique wineries ... [sometimes] their volume just doesn't allow that price point that the consumer is comfortable to pay."
Reputation rethink
Industry body Riverland Wine has been exploring new strategies to boost the region's profile.
It recently commissioned international photographer Matt Wilson and renowned writer Katie Spain to capture the personalities of wine producers in a campaign called Riverland Uprising.
Riverland Wine executive office Lyndall Rowe said the organisation hoped to partner with the local tourism body, Destination Riverland, to drive wine sales within the region.
"Given the massive changes worldwide with China and shipping, the industry has just completely changed and we can't continue doing what we did in the past," she said.
