By Amy Looker, editor National Liquor News
Australia's grape crush for 2013 was still too high, according to the Winemakers' Federation of Australia (WFA), which today released figures showing this year's vintage to be 10 per cent up on last year.
"Following a number of lower vintages, the 2013 crush reminds us that the production potential of the Australian industry remains too high and is not in balance with local and international demand for our wine," said WFA chief executive, Paul Evans.
"The large crush is likely to result in higher inventory levels and bulk wine exports. It will place further downward pressure on prices and profitability throughout the commercial wine segment over the coming vintage."
The WFA reported a 1.83-million-tonne crush for the 2013 vintage, which is 170,000 tonnes above last year and well above the six-year average.
However, Evans said that despite the 2013 crush being unsustainable in terms of size, the overall quality looked promising.
"Fortunately, quality levels remain consistently high across the regions and varieties. Consumers will be the big winners once again."
The consumer is not winning when they are offered more, cheap, Australian wine; the fact that some industry bodies hold this belief is worrying.
People critise appellation systems, however, a mechanism that provides at least some incentive for producers to restrict their yields and aim for quality over quantity wouldn’t be a bad thing for the future of Australian wine right now.