Australia’s small winemakers have reported another year of strong growth in revenue and production across all sales, according to the findings of Wine Australia’s Small Winemaker Production and Sales Survey 2016–17 report.
Both production and revenue for small winemakers (categorised as those crushing up to 500 tonnes) grew by 10% in 2016–17.
Small winemakers now contribute an estimated 8% to the total $1.3 billion of wine sale in Australian winegrape crush, with the vast majority of wine sales for Australia’s small winemakers in the domestic market; with retailers accounting for almost half of all wine sales and cellar door nearly one third.
Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said the findings of the report show that the growing enthusiasm for Australian wine in export markets and regional wine tourism has boosted the morale of small winemakers.
“The report shows that while export markets currently account for 14% of their wine sales on average, our smaller winemakers are optimistic about the increasing sales opportunities from export markets and visits to cellar doors,” he said.
“The Australian Government’s Export and Regional Wine Support Package will provide further opportunities for wine export growth, with applications for the Wine Export Grants anticipated to open in January 2018, and the state-based and competitive grants leading to thousands more international tourists visiting our wine regions.”
Interestingly, small winemakers claim that cellar doors and export markets present the best business opportunities over the next five years.
This is illustrated in the report, whereby cellar doors were portrayed as the fastest growing sales channel with an average 6% growth and increased investment in other attractions and facilities for visitors.
These results are consistent with recent consumer research by Wine Intelligence, which indicated a shift among winery visitors who previously sought a sole wine tasting experience, and are now are opting for more holistic, all-inclusive experiences.
The repot illustrated:
Key insights from the report:
• Production increase of 10% on average, in line with the overall increase in the national vintage crush, to 106 million litres
• Small winemakers account for 35% of domestic sales value and 10% of export sales value
• 73% of small winemakers reported increased revenue, 10% reported no change and 16% reported a decline in sales
• The retail channel is the largest domestic channel for small winemakers, accounting for 45% of wine sales on average, with cellar door sales second at 30%, and other direct to consumer channels – such as own website, online retail through a third party and mail order/wine club – together account for 17% of wine sales.
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