Grape growers face another bad year

March 2015

Despite some humid and rainy weather while grapes were ripening, yields across the region are on track to hit around 400,000 tonnes, 30,000 tonnes less than last year's crush.

However, Riverland wine grape growers are facing another year of low price offers from wineries, according to industry body Riverland Wine.

Wineries that have signed on to a voluntary code of conduct must give grape growers an indication of the price they could offer for each variety.

Riverland Wine executive officer Chris Byrne said those offers have been discouraging this vintage, although he is hopeful rumours that chardonnay prices could be as low as $180 a tonne will not eventuate.

The region continues to grapple with the long run decline of the industry, which has seen the number of growers decline from around 1,350 at the industry's peak in the early 2000s to 1,050 today, according to Riverland Wine.