The Australians' annual presentation of their wines to the trade and media in their most important export market the UK has long been one of the leading events in the UK wine trade calendar. Now that the Oz export engine appears to have run out of steam, it surely takes on even greater significance. Even while sales of Australian wines in the UK were relatively insignificant, in the 1980s, the event rapidly outgrew Australia House in London. The first external location I can remember was the Café Royal. In the era when Hazel Murphy was in charge of Australian wine's fortunes in the UK, the tasting was held in rather run-down...