AUS: Grapes left unpicked as wine glut hits home

The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation has reported that up to 3% of grapes will have been left to wither on the vine at this year's harvest because of the country's Australian wine glut.

According to local reports, the Corporation said that 60,000 tonnes of grapes, enough to make around 55m bottles of wine, have been left unpicked this year. More worryingly, the Barossa Winegrape Growers Council suggested that the Corporation's estimate was conservative, with the percentage of unpicked fruit closer to 10% in the Barossa region.

In addition, Australian wine companies could have almost an entire year's supply of wine still in vats from last year. Corporation analyst Peter Bailey said estimates of wine still in storage varied from between 500m and 900m litres. Last year, domestic wine consumption reached around 430m litres, while around 700m litres was exported.

"There is also quite a bit of wine left in storage from the last few vintages," Bailey said. "That is making the situation a lot more difficult. Our prediction is that it would take four to five years to bring the supply-demand balance back."

Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation estimates put the 2006 harvest at around 1.9m, 1% below last year. However, the quality of this year's harvest is said to be "good to excellent".