Hunter Valley wine industry under threat
Veteran Hunter vigneron Bruce Tyrrell is a member of the famous wine family descended from English immigrant Edward Tyrrell who first grew grapes on the Brokenback Range in 1858.
The Hunter is home to 60 winemakers and 80 wineries, and Mr Tyrrell believes that number could be cut to a handful of boutique operations in 10 years and a few supplying to corporations.
It is the oldest winemaking region in Australia, but it could collapse under the weight of global companies that are set to dominate the market.
‘‘On the commercial side of the business it is just getting too hard to compete,’’ Mr Tyrrell said.
‘‘If you look at the rest of the alcohol industry we only have two breweries left in Australia, and one of those is a multi-national, and there are only about a dozen major breweries throughout the world.
‘‘In the spirit game you are also looking at about a dozen major players throughout the world and that’s what is going to happen to the wine industry.
‘‘There will be about 10 or 12 major international companies, and wineries like us in the Hunter will just serve fine wine direct to the customer and a few restaurants around the place.’’
Growers say another reason for the impending demise in the region is that there are very few Hunter wineries associated with international companies.
Brett Keeping, from Two Rivers winery in Denman, said fighting against multinational companies was a trend that had been developing for some time.
‘‘It seems to be the way in the Hunter wine industry that you get really big or you find yourself a niche,’’ Mr Keeping said.
‘‘It is very hard for small to medium wineries to compete unless you have a direct customer base and it’s only going to get harder.’’