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20/07/2012

GWRDC plan seeks sustainable consumer-driven innovation

Improving sustainable processes for producers to make wines that match consumer preferences in key markets will be the research focus of the Australian wine industry over the next five years.

The Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation today released its Strategic Research, Development and Extension Plan, outlining where winemaker and grapegrower levies and government funds – potentially up to $125 million – will be invested from 2012–2017.

The money will be geared towards four programs, with each encompassing a range of specific strategies geared towards making the Australian wine sector more profitable, competitive and sustainable.

The first program will focus on the environment and sustainability, and address issues surrounding climate change, pests and diseases, natural resources and minimising carbon emissions.

Consumers and markets is the focus of the second program, while the third program will address ways to improve products and processes, in the vineyard and the winery, to produce higher quality wines in an economic and sustainable manner.

The final program will look at extension and application, and will seek to ensure that all research GWRDC invests in can be used by its levy payers for innovation.

In the plan, the GWRDC identifies drivers for change as being export opportunities, particularly in east Asian countries, and consumer desire for authenticity in the bottle and the story (including the move towards low-alcohol wines).

Other drivers include the high Australian dollar, overcoming trade barriers in new and emerging markets, and issues regarding supermarkets and buyers-own-brands.

To read the report, visit the GWRDC website at: www.gwrdc.com.au

For full coverage of the plan and the reaction from industry, be sure to see the September issue of the Grapegrower & Winemaker.

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