By James Atkinson
Family wineries have succeeded in the Australian market because of their ability to think long-term in their business strategy in a way that corporate wineries can't, says Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW) chairman, Mitchell Taylor.
Taylor was responding to last week's comments by Treasury Wine Estates CEO David Dearie that AFFW wineries together produce more lower-priced wine than TWE's brands.
Taylor said that while the families acknowledge that they sell entry level product, the ethos of AFFW is to promote the premium end of their portfolios, while telling the stories behind all of their wines.
"Regardless of price, each of our families' stories are contained in every bottle of wine we produce," Taylor said.
"However, the iconic wines that we focus on, and the sacred sites that they hail from, are what helps to alter the perception of Australian wine as only industrial and helps to raise the acknowledgement of quality."
Taylor said family wineries are able to think long term in their business strategy "and are not influenced by the stock market, rather by building value and leaving a lasting legacy for their next generation".