Most companies tend to export their products once they have cracked the home market. But not Palliser Estate Winery, winner of the 2008 New Zealand Post Wellington Exporter of the Year Award, whose wine has been exported since day one.

“I always knew that the future for New Zealand wine lay in the overseas markets,” explains Managing Director, Richard Riddiford, “and I remember our first export of 50 cases in 1991 to the UK well.”

Richard knew then that sales of his wines would be held back if he limited his products to New Zealand. For example, Palliser Estate’s target of 5% of all wine drinkers is far higher in London than here in New Zealand.

“We started exporting early on also because it generally takes a good five years to get exporting working well,” Richard says. “To succeed at export a winery must have sensible pricing. You have got to persevere and you have to understand foreign exchange.”

Today, Palliser Estate exports over 65% of its Palliser and Pencarrow brands to 25 different countries.

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