News

Australian Grape & Wine welcomes the recommendation by the Senate that the Government should invest in expanding existing markets including through the promotion of wineries and cellar doors domestically, along with the recent commitment by the Albanese Government to boost Austrade’s support for wine exporters. Such assistance is strongly justified given the current economic climate …

The Albanese Government’s decision to increase the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) producer rebate to $400,000 and enhance Austrade’s support for wine exporters is a welcome step for the sector. However, broader action is needed to address ongoing challenges, particularly the oversupply of red wine, which continues to impact grape and wine prices. Australian Grape & …

Overview On Friday, 28 February, the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee released its report into the Australian winegrape purchases code of conduct. The report includes five key recommendations aimed at improving fairness, transparency, and sustainability within the sector. Australian Grape & Wine welcomes the release of the report and is carefully …

In the leadup to the inauguration of Donald Trump as the President of the United States of America (US) on 20 January 2025, there were many questions about what we could expect more broadly from the Trump Administration. Alcohol and health policy in the United States Late in the Biden Administration, a number of US …

With a number of detections of exotic plant pest the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug having occurred this season, Australian Grape and Wine encourages grape producers to exercise vigilance when undertaking crop monitoring.  There is an obligation to report any unusual pest or disease by calling the Plant Health Hotline.  The first of September through to …

ABAC has now commissioned JWS Research to undertake proactive monitoring of ABAC signatory and non-signatory compliance with ABAC Responsible Alcohol Marketing Code Placement Rule 2. ABAC Code Placement Rule 2 provides that an alcohol marketer must utilise available age restriction controls to exclude minors from viewing its marketing communications.   JWS Research will randomly select …

Australia, through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Australian Grape & Wine have assumed the role of government and Industry Chair of the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG) for 2024. This leadership role places Australia at the forefront of efforts to streamline international wine trade, working towards the mutual acceptance of winemaking practices …

There are significant concerns across many agriculture sectors regarding the potential cost to growers from the loss of certain use patterns of key weed control ingredients, Paraquat and Diquat (eg Sprayseed). The recommendations from APVMA technical reports will effectively put an end to the existing approved uses of Paraquat and Diquat in vineyards. Paraquat and …

The South Australian Government is proposing reforms to modernise South Australia’s beverage container deposit scheme (CDS) via the draft Environment Protection (Beverage Container Deposit Scheme) Amendment Bill 2024. Proposed reforms focus mainly on scheme governance and system modernisation, however, the proposal includes the removal of the exclusion for wine glass from the ACT to include it …

Australian Grape & Wine has approached US grape virus expert Marc Fuchs to present to key decision-makers in Government and industry on the seriousness of grapevine red blotch virus. The disease is known to lower vine vigour and yield, reduce fruit quality and negatively affect wine composition, resulting in reported losses of up to USD170,000 …