News

Australian wine exports during 2020–21 declined by 10 per cent in value to $2.56 billion, compared with the previous financial year, while export volume declined by 5 per cent in volume to 695 million litres (77 million 9-litre case equivalents), according to Wine Australia’s latest Export Report released today.

The Australian wine sector has rebounded from two successive small vintages to produce a record crop of 2.03 million tonnes in 2021, after a season characterised by near-perfect growing and ripening conditions across most states and regions, according to the National Vintage Report 2021 released today by Wine Australia.

Wine Australia today launched its Export Label Image Search System (ELISS) to help Australian wine producers protect their intellectual property rights.

Fifteen dynamic and skilled members of the Australian wine community have today joined the roll call of the grape and wine sector’s professional and personal development program, Future Leaders.

Wine Australia has launched a new Interactive Insights portal – giving grapegrowers and winemakers 24 x 7 access to the latest wine export and grape production data.

2020 was a year unparalleled in recent history, massively shifting consumer behaviours. This Market Bulletin examines the effects on the wine market in the United States of America including total wine sales by channel, shifting demographics, domestic category versus imports and, finally, how the Australian category has fared.

COVID-19 has brought much uncertainty when it comes to travel in 2020. With some interstate travel halted, tourism turned intrastate with locals taking the opportunity to explore their own backyards – where restrictions allowed – providing much needed relief in many regional areas.

In the 12 months ended September 2020, 771 million litres of Australian wine was exported to 116 destinations across the world. Of the total volume, 55 per cent was shipped unpackaged to be packaged in-market. Only 25 destinations received unpackaged Australian wine, with just over half that volume landing in the United Kingdom.

Chardonnay does not always get the attention it deserves. Red wine, particularly Shiraz, has tended to dominate recent stories of Australia’s export success, while Sauvignon Blanc has overshadowed other white wines on the domestic market for many years, currently accounting for 1 in every 8 bottles of wine purchased on the Australian domestic off-trade retail market

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales make up an estimated 17 per cent of total wine sales value, but for the majority of Australian wine businesses, which produce fewer than 20,000 cases, DTC sales account for more than 50 per cent of wine sales value and are therefore critical to their success and sustainability.