ONE of the country’s leading winemakers has pointed the finger at Australia’s big wine corporations, accusing them of being responsible for the industry’s major problems.
An oversupply of grapes and the decline of our international wine reputation had left the industry grappling with serious challenges, South Australian premium winemaker Brian Croser told a meeting of agricultural and resource economists at Adelaide Convention Centre yesterday.
The causes of the dilemmas, according to Mr Croser, the founder and former owner of Adelaide Hills based Petaluma wine company, can be tracked directly to fewer than 10 large wine corporations which crush more than 10,000 tonnes of grapes each year, amounting collectively to more than a million tonnes.