The current state of excess supply of grapes in Australia, and around the world for that matter, has certainly been amplified of late due to a panel discussion during the recent Wine Industry Outlook Conference held by the Winemakers Federation of Australia.
During the panel discussion, John Grant of Constellation Wines suggested that Australia’s supply of wine grapes needed to be scaled back by 20%, or in his words, 1 in every 5 rows of vines needs to be removed.
Hark back to the dark old days in the 1970′s when the vine pull scheme left a lasting scar on the quality of wine grapes being grown in Australia. Hasn’t history taught us anything. It seems to me that managing production could be controlled in other ways. The French appellation system, for all its flaws, essentially does work by controlling yield and subsequently controlling quality. Australian growers, especially those in high yielding, irrigated regions will be skeptical. Why should they reduce their yields because others have become greedy, and tax incentive schemes have fuelled much of the over planting in recent years?
Could Australia embark on a similar system, or is it way to far fetched to even contemplate. Yes, it’s socialist, but so are many other things in our society today, whether it’s blatant or not. One thing for sure it would do though is help maintain consistency among regions, and exemplify what varieties do well and those that do not.
What John Grant is endorsing in reality is a similar approach, albeit, in a way that certainly will be beneficial to larger, shareholder driven organisations. It will be interesting to follow the debate, and wether something, if anything, will come of it.
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Easy for him to say! It strikes me that those producing fruit who are close to the profit/loss line will be a little worried about reducing production in the short to medium term. Simple economics would suggest that increased yields will equal more money in their coffers.
Yes, overproduction does lower the price, but unless everyone reduces production, there’s surely no incentive for a particular grower to do the same.
Perhaps a focus on quality, with an increased zeal regarding contracts would make more sense: produce high quality grapes, and make sure you have a locked down contract to sell them before you do so.
Its difficult to make decisions for the benefit of all if you’re struggling to pay the bills!