Wine distribution in the spotlight

Watershed Premium Wines will halt their tastings on Monday to focus on the practical side of wine production.

The 21st annual Finlaysons Wine Roadshow will explore the challenges of a changing distribution model and how small to medium producers can respond.

Finlaysons Wine partner Will Taylor said this year’s topic was particularly relevant as distribution problems were having a direct affect on wineries.

“The traditional producer, wholesaler, retailer distribution model is under intense pressure,” he said.

“A large number of Margaret River producers sell through traditional models so they certainly would be at risk.”

Mr Taylor said problems stemmed from the big buying power of Coles and Woolworths, who put pressure on distributers to make the biggest margin they could.

The struggling economy only added to this environment, he said. In the battle for financial survival, distributors pushed for a higher margin from wineries or forced promotion and advertising responsibilities back to the producer.

“We’ve see some distributors go broke and wineries may be owed money or be in a situation where they have no one to sell their wine,” Mr Taylor said.

Other consequences included distributors dropping less powerful brands or even developing their own wines to sell in competition with principal brands.

Monday’s seminar will focus on how wine producers can identify and proactively respond to these challenges.

Mr Taylor said such advice included having a strong legally sound contract and increasing direct-to-consumer sales through cellar doors and online.

“In these uncertain times, wine businesses need to identify the risks and have a plan to deal with them,” he said.

“The worst thing they can do is put their head in the sand and just wait and see what happens.”

To register for Finlaysons’ Wine Roadshow, visit www.wineroadshow.com.au or contact Jennifer Sothman on 8235 7769.