About Us

In 2013 our non traditional wine importing company, The Great Australian Wine Company (GAWC) seized on the growing opportunities for NEW Australian wine in the USA market. Breaking the mould of the traditional 3 – Tier distribution system, we developed a partnership model with Australian wine producers.

Providing importer services and market support to find distribution and retail opportunities to build sales in the US, while our winery partners work with us to ensure their products are in the US market to enable these opportunities.
The success of our company relies on a close working relationship with like minded wine producers. We share a long term vision of sustainable growth in the world’s biggest market place.
At GAWC we don’t shy away from “hand to hand combat” type work, as a grass roots and patient approach to the US market is the only way to grow long term success.
Our producers have all been successful in their own right in the Australian domestic market and as such understand the support, patience and vision we have for the USA. We are based in Australia, but honestly, we are really based in an airplane, spending more than a total of 40 weeks a year working the market. We have a unique opportunity to be close to both the market and our winery partners.
We work closely with our producers on wine style, product selection, pricing, inventories etc, to ensure success. It also provides comfort to our producer to know we speak the same language and share a culture which helps build a realistic and sustainable approach to a complex market. As our business grows we will appoint staff in the US to help manage the market.

VISION

We will build long term, profitable and sustainable sales for all our winery partners. As we secure markets and sales across our established brands we will grow our portfolio being mindful to maintain our close relationship with both our winery and market partners.

OUR PARTNERS

WHO ARE WE
Tony Gray
Tony has always had an intrinsic passion for the wine industry and for South Australian wines. His first venture into sharing the grape gold from South Australia came when he was working in North America for an independent wine label.

Notwithstanding the political and Statutory challenges of importing and distributing wine into the US and Canadian markets, the stand out was the overwhelming satisfaction of delivering the product to the wider market.

The 4 years spent travelling and working across the states, allowed Tony to create a more efficient simplified platform, in a market he knew demanded frenetic pace and evolutional change to command attention.

At its core and under the direction of Tony, The Great Australian Wine company remains committed to telling the story of great wine, of quality product and of delivering exceptional wine experiences.

The challenges are two-fold for the business, one is to change the perception of traditional ‘Aussie wines’, and to engage with a new version of Australian wine drinker in the US.