Wine Australia has cancelled the export licence held by Growers Wine Group Pty Ltd following an investigation.
The investigation found that Growers Wine Group did not keep proper records and that it sold and exported wine with incorrect vintage and Geographical Indication (GI) claims.
Specifically, Growers Wine Group:
- Kept records that incorrectly recorded grapes sourced from Langhorne Creek as being sourced from the Barossa Valley, and subsequently exported and sold wine labelled as Barossa Valley that was not entitled to that GI claim, and
- Exported and sold Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (respectively) with incorrect vintage claims.
“The licence cancellation reflects Wine Australia’s commitment to ensuring that consumers worldwide can be confident that wine label claims about vintage, variety and GI are correct,” Wine Australia says.
“Importantly, there are no concerns about health or safety for consumers of the wine.
“However, GI and vintage claims strongly influence people’s purchasing decisions and it is important that consumers can be confident that a label claim reflects what is in the bottle.
“Wine Australia is confident that all recipients of the misrepresented wine have been informed and that there is no wine on the market with incorrect description.”
As the matter is subject to an ongoing investigation, Wine Australia says it is not able to comment further.
Growers Wine Group may make an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of Wine Australia’s decision in accordance with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1995. The prescribed time for making an application under the Act is 28 days from notification of the licence cancellation.
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