The Australian wine industry – struggling with a wine glut and numerous other challenges including pressure from the anti-alcohol lobby – has thrown its support behind the 19th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference in Adelaide this week.
The industry came out in numbers in a show of support and resilience with 1,111 delegates attending the triennial event – less than 100 down from the last event in 2022.
This included 119 international delegates with visitors from India and Ukraine.
More than 3,100 visitors went through the WineTech exhibition with 167 stands showcasing the latest and greatest in wine industry equipment and technology.
“The industry is really hurting at the moment, we know that,” AWRI managing director Mark Krstic said on the ABC South Australian Country Hour, which broadcast live from the event on Tuesday.
“But we’re a very social industry, so actually bringing people together and having those discussions and catching up with friends, is so therapeutic as well.”
Mark said one of the “mic-drop moments” for him was listening to wine industry commentator Felicity Carter talk about wine and health.
Delegates also heard about the state of our major export markets including China, Europe and America.
The suppliers WBM spoke to, were happy with the business generated.
Lee McLean, CEO of Australian Grape & Wine, told the audience on the first morning of the conference: “… it’s fair to say that we’re quite possibly on the cusp of a reckoning in our industry.”
“I think we can all agree there’s no silver bullet to dealing with this,” he said.
To underscore the Australian wine industry’s ongoing thirst for knowledge, 1,061 people attended the 34 workshops – with 6,378 glasses poured.
“Let the conversations, questioning, learning and collaborating continue,” the AWITC says.
“We’re proud of what this industry has achieved, and even prouder of what’s to come.
“Let’s keep the momentum going.”
The Tech Conference will return to Adelaide in 2028.
WBM – Australia’s Wine Business Magazine is a Media Partner of the event.
We will provide coverage of the Tech Conference in the July-August issue of WBM.
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