{"id":823996,"date":"2026-07-26T01:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T01:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/823996\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T01:30:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T01:30:15","slug":"australias-wine-industry-is-in-crisis-mode-but-some-makers-are-rising-above-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/823996\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s wine industry is in crisis mode. But some makers are rising above it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exclusive: Australian winemakers are facing a generational downturn in sales, with once-famous vineyards shutting down<\/a> and an alcohol giant pulling out of winery ownership almost entirely.<\/a><\/p>\n

But one family-owned business<\/a> is finding a way to survive and flourish.<\/p>\n

\"Red<\/p>\n

The big, bold red was once the Australian drink of choice – but not anymore.\u00a0iStock<\/p>\n

Local wine production has slumped to a 25-year low of 1.27 million tonnes \u2013 the smallest vintage since 2000, according to Wine Australia\u2019s\u00a0National Vintage Report 2026.<\/a><\/p>\n

The decline represents 33 million fewer cases of wine, a sobering snapshot of how growers and winemakers are struggling to find their place in the changing market.<\/p>\n

Bold reds were once the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of Australia\u2019s internationally recognised wine. It seems sparkling and prosecco is now reigning supreme instead.<\/p>\n

Family-owned wine company Brown Brothers has been operating for 140 years and has avoided becoming collateral damage in our fading love affair with wine.<\/p>\n

Fourth-generation winemaker Katherine Brown told nine.com.au<\/a> that her family company has survived over a century of industry changes because of its willingness to \u201clisten\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fourth-generation Brown Brothers winemaker Katherine Brown.\u00a0Brown Brothers<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the family legacy has always been about understanding the consumer, and actually listening to what the consumer wants rather than turning around saying, \u2018Well, I like riesling, I\u2019m going to make riesling, and that\u2019s the way it is.\u2019,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always come into our winemaking with very open minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown identified flavoured moscato as one of Brown Brothers\u2019 top-selling products.<\/p>\n

The winemakers have played around with different flavour profiles and, as Brown explained, are not afraid to get it wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen some of the most amazing so-called experiments turn into some of the most amazing products,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe keep trying to be like at forefront of the next wave of what people are drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what about if people simply aren\u2019t drinking alcohol?<\/p>\n

A report released by Vypr\u2019s\u00a0Australian Consumer Horizon\u00a0report found that one in two Australians have consciously taken a break from drinking in the past 12 months, and another 42 per cent are planning to cut back.<\/p>\n

\"Brown<\/p>\n

Chief winemaker Joel Tilbrook said the company is finding success in the tough Chinese market.\u00a0Brown Brothers<\/p>\n

Chief winemaker\u00a0Joel Tilbrook said the company is aware of the \u201ctough climate\u201d, exacerbated by a trend towards sobriety and zero alcohol products.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecruiting a younger drinker into the wine category has been an area of wine where there\u2019s been some challenge,\u201d Tilbrook said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a different result to many out there, but it\u2019s not an easy path either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tilbrook described the zero alcohol category as one Brown Brothers is keeping a close eye on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just the younger demographic; it\u2019s not Gen Zs… we\u2019re also seeing more and more from the Boomer generation that aren\u2019t drinking for medical reasons or maybe lifestyle reasons,\u201d Brown added.<\/p>\n

Australian wine exports declined by eight per cent in value to $2.34 billion in 2025, a downward trend driven by fading interest from the Chinese market.<\/a><\/p>\n

Brown Brothers, however, nearly doubled its export between 2025 and 2026, and is having success in China with its sparkling varieties.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoscato is doing a lot of the heavy lifting,\u201d Tilbrook said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting some really exciting growth in the UK, Canada, and China.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The company is famed for its sparkling varieties, notably prosecco and moscato.\u00a0Brown Brothers<\/p>\n

Keeping the cellar door open<\/p>\n

Vineyards and cellar doors are closing around the country.<\/p>\n

Heartland Wines, a red\u00a0wine<\/a>\u00a0producer located in Norwood in\u00a0Adelaide\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0east, collapsed into voluntary administration this month with debts totalling $3.6 million.<\/p>\n

Endeavour Group will close more than half of its wineries in NSW, Victoria and South Australia in a \u201cstrategic transformation\u201d of its\u00a0wine business<\/a>, slashing its winery assets from seven to just three.<\/p>\n

Brown said their cellar door in Milawa, Victoria remains a key part of the Brown Brothers business.<\/p>\n

She understands that wineries are not the \u201cmoneymaker\u201d for big wine producers, but they serve an important purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can turn around and say, \u2018Look, it\u2019s not money-making money for us. Get rid of it\u2019,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that people come and visit us, and they become \u2018brand loyal\u2019 for life. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe give them memories to take away with them, and something like that, in terms of recruiting and keeping customers, is really where we hold the value.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Australian winemakers are facing a generational downturn in sales, with once-famous vineyards shutting down and an alcohol…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":823997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-823996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}