Floundering wine industry in govt spotlight
Wine sector leaders are calling for a clear strategy to help the state’s struggling wine industry as the Premier meets key players to find a way forward.
Premier Peter Malinauskas says he is today meeting with key wine industry stakeholders to address ongoing challenges facing the industry, leading to vines being pulled and grapes being left to rot on the vines.
The state’s wine sector is reeling from ongoing blows to their industry triggered by global oversupply, declining grape prices and devastating trade tariffs reaching back to 2020.
Wine grape growers, winemakers, peak bodies including the South Australian Wine Industry Association and Wine Grape Council of SA are today meeting with state government officials, relevant ministers and agency representatives to ensure a “whole-of-government” response.
“I have met with grape growers and wine producers across the state on recent regional trips and have heard firsthand the impact these challenges are having on the livelihoods of good South Australians,” Malinauskas said.
The announcement follows data from Wine Australia last month showing there was a 25-year low in wine grape crush that contributed a more than $100 million loss to the state economy.
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The data found the 2026 vintage was 17 per cent below last year’s total tonnes crushed, down more than 100,000 tonnes to 573,252 tonnes, while there were 1440 hectares of vines less than the same time last year in SA.
McLaren Vale Wine Region CEO Erin Leggat told InDaily the wine sector needed a “concerted strategy” from the government it would not only recover, but return to its peak within the next decade.
“This is an industry that’s almost 200 years old in this state. It needs a bit of a plan to make sure it has the longevity that we know it can have,” Leggat said
“It’s really challenging out there, so I think it’s really important for people to know across the board that this is an industry that needs support if we want it to be a pillar of the South Australian economy and reputation going forward.”
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Leggat said the industry has been facing increasing challenges “for years”, but welcomed the government’s decision for a coordinated response.
“A lot of our problems stemmed from COVID and the Chinese tariffs in late 2020, and we’re still seeing the lag from that,” she said.
“Winemakers still had to keep buying the grapes and making wine through the period that they couldn’t sell wine to China.
“It’s fantastic to see that the Premier is really looking at this coordinated response from a South Australian point of view because the wine industry is an industry that touches so many different sectors and portfolios.”
The wine sector is one of the biggest economic drivers in the state, with SA winemakers producing 80 per cent of the country’s premium wine and 50 per cent of all bottled wines.
In the past 12 months, wine was SA’s third largest export commodity by value, with the state exporting 371.6 million litres of wine worth $1.67 billion.
The Premier said the forum would “safeguard the future of the state’s wine industry and support South Australian wine grape growers and producers”.
“The aim of bringing these key representatives together is to discuss solutions and impactful ways the state government can support our industry through these challenges and make it even stronger,” he said.
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