What’s wrong with the Aussie wine industry?

Noted winemaker Brian Croser (ex Petaluma, Hardys etc) recently told a meeting of Australian agricultural economists that the current problems faced by the Australian wine industry can be traced directly to less than ten large corporations which collectively crush more than a million tonnes of grapes a year.

The country’s 2,000 or so small winemakers produce “fine wine” while the “big boys” produce ‘branded commodity wine’ – the latter is the root cause of the downfall of the industry’s international presence as it has lost favour in the market place in competition with cheaper products from Argentina, Chile and South Africa.

Mr Croser said that the big companies did not understand the fine wine sector and they lacked the corporate culture, patience and management stability essential for its success. He maintains that small makers are the key to realising the potential of Australia’s fine wines in the next two decades and are essential to restoring the credibility of the industry.

UK wine commentator Oz Clarke took a similar line in an interview with Australian media in February 2010. He thinks that “Australia has lost its larrikin personality to the suits and marketing bigwigs and that is hurting.”

Mr Clarke wants a return of the great Aussie character in the sales pitch in Britain, its largest and most loyal market. “You are short of mavericks such as SA’s Peter Lehmann, Chester Osborn and Geoff Merrill”, he said, adding that “bad sportsmanship shown by some national sporting teams was another reason that Australian wine was no longer in favour in UK. Good relationships on and off the sporting field count in the way the middle classes react to Australian wines.”