Shocking footage circulating online has revealed the extent of the crisis within Australia’s world-renowned wine industry, amid a global economic downturn and decreasing demand. Third-generation wine grower Darren De Bortoli has weathered droughts, global financial crises, and shifting consumer tastes, but it’s a challenge unlike any other that’s forced him to make the devastating decision to rip out his beloved vines.
De Bortoli Shares Footage of Vine Removal
De Bortoli shared the devastating footage after he was forced to rip out vines from his vineyards near Griffith in the New South Wales Riverina region. “It’s arguably the worst period possibly in the last 50 years and possibly going back to even the Great Depression,” he told 7News.
China Tariffs Triggered Downturn
He says the downturn first became obvious when China imposed high tariffs on Australian wine in 2020. “Leading up to that time China was a major market for Australian wine.” It’s a sentiment backed up by industry leaders, with Australian Grape and Wine CEO Lee McLean saying sales dipped from about $1.2 billion to less than $10 million overnight. “Ever since that period, we’ve been trying to find opportunities in every market that we possibly can.” While the harsh tariffs have since been lifted, for Aussie growers the damage has been done.
Wine Glut: 2 Billion Litres Stockpiled
Wine Australia estimates there’s over 2 billion litres of stockpiled wine sitting in storage waiting to be consumed. “Effectively we’ve got too much wine sitting in tanks at the moment, too many vines in the ground and not enough people around the world drinking wine,” McLean states. The oversupply has left grape growers receiving historically low prices for their fruit while wineries struggle to move stock.
Gen Z Choosing Not to Drink
Across the globe, alcohol consumption is falling to rates not seen since the 1960s. In Australia, the change is most noticeable among young people. “Generation Z is probably the most disconcerting thing… they’re just not consuming alcohol generally and that’s for a number of reasons,” De Bortoli claims. “People becoming probably more conscious about what they were consuming to some extent particularly this anti carbs sentiment.”
Alcohol-Free Alternatives on the Rise
This change has more producers offering alcohol-free alternatives – a move Orange-based winery Tamburlaine Organic has embraced. “We do zero alcohol wines for those who don’t drink but still want to try something,” Tamburlaine operations manager Clayton Kiely says. “Orange is in a great position as far as domestic wine sales go... The advantage here in Orange is that we do grow premium fruit and that premium fruit is going into bottles that are in demand.”
Searching for Solutions
Despite the grim outlook, industry leaders believe the sector can recover by pursuing new export opportunities and encouraging Australian consumers to embrace locally grown products. “We need to be making sure we’re doing much more of our own market here in Australia to promote Australian wines,” McLean said. “It’s got to be a full scale effort and a partnership between government and industry to get this right.”
