Australia winemakers court Asian taste buds

Yarra Valley, Australia

WRAPPED tightly in sleeping bags to keep them from freezing in frigid conditions, Australian winemaker Sirromet's bottles slowly make their way across the vast Mongolian landscape on the back of a yak.

The wine's journey from Queensland state on Australia's east coast, about 9,500 kilometres as the crow flies, to isolated parts of the sparsely-populated Asian nation is one example of the growing appeal of vintages from Down Under.

Australian winemakers are increasingly finding favour with Asian taste buds as the region's burgeoning middle and upper classes search for new gastronomical adventures, fuelled by rising incomes. "It's really been a rapid change in attitudes towards wine," Sirromet's sales director Rod Hill told AFP of the booming demand in Asian powerhouse China. "Five years ago, it was rare to see people in bars drinking wine. When I was there seven months ago, I just c…