The famous Barossa vine valley.
The Australian wine industry which once overtook French wine in British sales, is now being warned to ready itself for the worst crisis to hit the Australian wine industry in 50 years.
A glut of wine and falling prices may be good news for wine drinkers, but for the wine industry it’s a disaster, with millions of litres of wine wasting away in warehouses and many growers leaving the industry because they are simply not making a profit anymore. And that could lead, ultimately, to higher prices.
In the UK, Australian wine has become very much the wine of favour according to analysts Nielsen which showed that cheap wines from the New World were filling up the supermarket shelves. It was the French wines that plummeted, sinking to sixth place in British wine drinkers affections. Now it appears that the Australians are heading in much the same direction.
According to the Wine Grape Growers Australia, around 20,000 acres of vines have been removed in New South Wales and South Australia in the past 18 months alone as growers quit the industry. And the head of the Growers, Mark McKenzie, had some dire news for UK wine lovers: “Over time we will see cheap and cheerful wine from Australia drying up in the UK.”
The tourist industry in Australia could also be hit by the wine crisis as wine tours are a popular choice for holidaymakers in Australia, particularly with British guzzlers of Australian wine. Barossa is one of the most famous wine regions in Australia – and the most visited.
According to 2006 figures by Tourism Research Australia, 163,000 international visitors visited an Australian winery every quarter along with over 3 million local visitors. New South Wales was the most popular destination for wine tourists.
If you want to find out more about Australian wine or if you want to go on a wine tour then have a look at our Australian wine section which offers you information and advice on where to go and what to do.
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