Clarifying the overhaul of Australia’s wine industry research

By Martin Cole, chief executive officer, Wine Australia

Wine Australia’s approach to research investment has changed over the past year, and I’m pleased to have this opportunity to explain the key developments and rationale.

Nothing stays the same, and the challenges facing the wine and grape sector are many and evolving. Wine Australia has always strived to make the most of its grape and wine R&D levy income, deliver the maximum value for our customers, and address the sector’s most pressing issues through targeted investments. However, it became clear early in my tenure that we needed to consult, listen to and engage with our customers in new ways and further adjust our guiding principles and operational activity across the Research & Innovation (formerly RD&A) portfolio according to what we learned.

The end result of many meetings, workshops, surveys and discussions with passionate, experienced and well-informed sector representatives, as well as our valued research partners, has been an overhaul of the way we develop, fund and deliver research. We are now on a journey that will see more diverse sources of co-investment and funding opened up, including partnering in new initiatives across agricultural sectors, to supplement levy income and enable greater scale, collaboration and return on investment.

The other key change is that Wine Australia is now undertaking more end-to-end co-design of research projects with grapegrowers, winemakers and our other sector customers, research providers and relevant sector bodies to achieve maximum impact and application. This approach will shape the research done in partnership with and on behalf of the sector for years to come, and ensure its outcomes are the ones our customers need.

This hand-in-glove approach is also paying off in the adoption space: an increase in online resources coupled with equipping, training and partnering with local growers to develop agtech demonstration sites for regular grower-focused sessions, has seen an uptick in adoption and practice change. The commercialisation, communication and development of research outcomes is also a priority, converting knowledge gained through R&D investment into useable tools and practice change at the earliest opportunity.

A great example of one of these new co-designed projects is the Warm Inland Productivity and Profitability (WIPP) project, which has been developed and funded in collaboration with the NSW Wine Industry Association, Riverina Wine Grape Growers Association, NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), Charles Sturt University and Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL).

Six months into the three-year term of the project, early outcomes include a winegrape trading platform to connect potential buyers and sellers of excess fruit, a new budgeting tool to assist growers in timely decision making and a local coordinator for the Riverina to aid in the adoption of best practice models and techniques and liaise between research providers and growers. The aim is to identify gaps in knowledge, skills, business management and vineyard practices relating to profitability, assist in building resilience and then transfer learnings to assist other warm inland wine regions, which are collectively dealing with more than their fair share of challenges.

Other current projects at various stages of consultation and development fall under the themes of no and low-alcohol (NOLO) wines and wine production and quality. Further, the ESG Business Plan and a related suite of projects in the sustainability space will be critically important in ensuring Australian wine’s market access, social acceptability and international reputation in the medium to long term.

While the work has only just begun to deliver on these projects and demonstrate the difference it makes to have the customer at the heart of their design and development, I’m heartened by the support and positive feedback we have received from both those directly involved and the many who stand to benefit in due course. WVJ