VINTAGE HARVEST

TASMANIA’S burgeoning wine industry continues to grow — with another record crop and expanding exports.

The latest industry production figures reveal the state produced 17,180 tonnes of grapes, topping last year’s 16,280-tonne crop.

At $2977 a tonne, the production is now worth about $51 million.

In bottle wine sales, the industry is now worth $8 million in exports.

“Tasmania now produces 1 per cent of Australia’s total wine grapes by volume and an impressive 4.2 per cent of its wine grape value,” Wine Tasmania technical and extension officer Paul Smart said.

“We only export about 5 per cent of our wine. But Tasmania and Tasmanian wine is getting a very good reputation in overseas markets.”

Mr Smart said there were significant opportunities in markets including Hong Kong, the UK and the US.

TASMANIA’S wine grape production is now worth more than $50 million after producing another record crop this season.

The latest industry production figures show growers across the state produced 17,180 tonnes of grapes this year, at a value of $2977 a tonne.

An increase on last year’s record result of 16,280 tonnes, it reflects “an unprecedented four consecutive years of strong yields for Tasmania”, Wine Tasmania technical and extension officer Paul Smart said.

“Tasmania now produces 1 per cent of Australia’s total wine grapes by volume and an impressive 4.2 per cent of its wine grape value.”

Mr Smart said this year’s increase was due to a combination of favourable weather conditions and new vines coming into production.

“Some our members have been expanding their production base with new vines and we’ve also had some new players come into the industry,” he said.

“Because we’re an island our weather is also influenced by the body of water around us, so we’ve been able to escape some of the extreme temperatures in other growing regions.”

Production across the Tasmanian industry has been expanding by about 5 per cent each year for the past two decades.

With increasing demand for Tasmanian wines, particularly in export markets, Mr Smart anticipates this will continue.

“At the moment we only export about 5 per cent of our wine,” he said. That equates to about $8 million a year.

“But Tasmania and Tasmanian wine is getting a very good reputation in overseas markets, so there are some significant opportunities there.”

Mr Smart said Wine Tasmania had planned to begin an export package with support from the Government with the aim of growing export markets — targeting Hong Kong, the UK, California and New York.

“In those markets we consistently get a premium for our wine,” he said.

Despite predictions of a fall of between 10-20 per cent nationally, this year’s production figures show a total Australian harvest of 1.73 million tonnes, down by just 1 per cent on the 10-year average.

Wine Australia chief executive officer Andreas Clark described the announcement as welcome news for the sector.

“This is a good-sized crop that will ensure Australia can continue to supply its export and domestic markets comfortably,” he said.

The total farmgate value of Australian wine grapes is now estimated to be $1.17 billion.