Australian wine seeks new markets amid falling sales(2)
Rising income levels in have resulted in increased sales of wine in many Asian countries
"It is the parasites who are living off the industry and the bottom-feeders around the place who are making it impossible for us to sell wine at a reasonable price in a lot of markets," Mr Margan tells the BBC.
"It is the share-listed companies who make decisions for the whole of the industry. These people are after short-term returns. There's no such thing in the wine industry.
"It is a long-term industry. It has very little financial return considering the amount of cash that needs to go into it."
To prosper he believes Australia must focus on the middle to upper end of the market to shed its low-price reputation.
New frontiers
Last year this country produced a head-spinning 1.1 billion litres of wine.
The vast majority was exported and more was sold in Britain than anywhere else, followed by the United States.
But a rising Australian dollar is making those exports increasingly expensive. Sales in the UK are down by 6%, while the US market shrank by 19% in the past year. It's enough to make some producers retreat to the cellar.
But as traditional markets weaken a new frontier is attracting a growing band of Australian winemakers.
"We actually don't export to the UK or the USA. We know we can't compete there in terms of the price point and the volume required," says Christina Tulloch, general manager of Tulloch Wines in the Hunter Valley.
"To us Asia offers a number of opportunities, obviously a huge population. What we have in Asia that we don't have in the UK and USA is this preconceived notion that Australian wine is cheap and cheerful."
The latest figures suggest that just as Asian demand for natural resources has been Australia's economic salvation, it could also revive the wine trade.
Last year exports to China rose by 12%, while sales were up too in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Australia has some very wealthy - and thirsty - neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region and Prime Minister Julia Gillard also believes it is time to cash in on Asia's rapid development.
"What we're seeing in our economy is the result of global economic weight moving from west to east, to our region of the world," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation recently.
"That gives us huge opportunities through our resources boom and through the provision of services to a growing Asian region and a growing middle class."
The vintners of the Hunter valley and beyond will drink to that.
