Aussie winery faces grapes of wrath
A big Aussie company has been buying grapes from a host of struggling top-of-the-south growers, but is its move good for the future of the industry here? Peter Watson reports on what is shaping into a key debate.
An Australian winery is providing a lifeline to many Nelson and Marlborough grapegrowers desperate to find a buyer for their crops in an industry still awash with wine and worried about the prospect of a bumper crop this year.
Warburn Estate has signed up about 50 growers, including 10 from Nelson, on three-year contracts at double the yield recommended by the New Zealand Winegrowers organisation.
That move has sparked criticism that it risks damaging the industry’s recovery and future as a producer of premium wine by undermining attempts to reduce the national crop to a sustainable level. Warburn has also been accused of paying bargain prices for grapes by taking advantage of growers in financial trouble.
read full article on stuff.co.nz
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