It remains a mystery to most observers of Australian wine why so many wineries went to such lengths to produce so much wine from less than desirable fruit in 2011. Perhaps the answer is really staring us in the face, given the 32 percent rise of Australia’s bottled exports to China in 2010, at a value of AUD$190 million. With the prospect of a significantly larger vintage looming in 2012, Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) has called for wineries to stop buying cheap wine grapes just because they can.WGGA chairman Vic Patrick says ‘It’s time to start acknowledging there are two surpluses Ð grape and wine Ð and the responsibility of doing something about it must be better shared.’ While Patrick agrees that vine removal and the mothballing of unviable vineyards are the essential first steps towards this correction, his third step represents an interesting concept.Patrick wants the grape growing industry to negotiate ‘a mutually acceptable variable yield limit of tonnes per hectare’, which would apply to all growers. He acknowledges that winery intake does depend on quality and demand, but wonders if such a system could work within the Champagne region in France, why it might not be trialled here. Patrick cites increased harvest limits in Champagne from 9700kg/ha in 2009 to 10,500 kg/ha in 2010 to 12,500 kg/ha in 2011 to handle the growing demand for Champagne.Patrick’s fourth step is that wineries should no longer buy what they shouldn’t be selling. ‘Do we want the pain to be short and sharp with the ultimate end brutal but complete? Or, do we want a long and protracted journey where the pain and battles continue for many more years?’ he wonders.
