Wine levy gets strong support
WINERIES and grape growers have voted overwhelmingly to continue to fund New Zealand Winegrowers, the body that represents them.
Electionnz.com has released results showing 87 per cent of wineries (98 per cent by volume) voted in favour of the wine levy, and 90 per cent of grape growers (92 per cent by value) voted in favour of the grape levy.
New Zealand Winegrowers receives about $6 million in levies from wineries, and $2m from grape growers annually.
It delivers services such as research, marketing, sustainability, advocacy and information delivery.
Wine industry commentator Michael Cooper said since 1975 the organisation and its predecessor, the Wine Institute, had done a good job in working for the wine industry.
At that time exports were virtually non-existent, whereas now they are worth $1.3 billion, and wine is the sixth most traded New Zealand ‘‘good’’.
‘‘They’ve managed to keep the industry together whereas in Australia we’ve seen breakaway organisations. We haven’t seen that dissension here,’’ he said.
Under chief executive Philip Gregan, New Zealand Winegrowers had also kept the multi-national wine companies and small scale family wineries together.
‘‘There are problems and talk about a split between the multi-nationals who provide a significant part of production, and small producers, and to what extent their interests are reconcilable,’’ Cooper said.
The focus by the the importance and multi-nationals on value of the New Zealand wine brand might last.
Chief winemaker at Martinborough’s Margrain Wines, Strat Canning, said small producers needed someone to advocate for them, and there was no point in underfunding the organisation.
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While there were grumbles about New Zealand Winegrowers, that was the same of any body.
The bigger the winery, the greater its level of funding.
By law the organisation must conduct a referendum every six years.