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Smaller grape growers are being squeezed and new vineyard plantings have been cut back as economic pressures and oversupply problems hit the New Zealand wine industry.
New Zealand had a record grape harvest of 285,000 tonnes in 2008 but suffered oversupply in the market. Domestic sales were down and export prices fell 2 per cent.
Predictions are that growers will be thinning their crop this year - which on the upside could mean better quality wines.
The area under vines in New Zealand had tripled to about 30,000ha in the past decade, according to New Zealand Winegrower figures.
However, this year new plantings had tapered off to about 10 per cent of what they were a year ago, said Marlborough grower and developer Peter Yealands.
There were also few buyers for some of the 68 vineyards or vineyard developments that were listed for sale on the website realestate.co.nz.
Most of them were smaller blocks, 70 going for under $1 million.
The bulk were in Central Otago and Marlborough, and ranged from $168,000 for a 4.3ha block near Kurow to $6.6 million for a 16ha Bannockburn vineyard.
Valuations on vineyards were down about 10 to 15 per cent on 12 months ago, Mr Yealands said.
He said there would be some growers without fruit supply contracts who would be worried.
This autumn's vintage would see wineries start exercising contract clauses that limited maximum yields per hectare, he said.
That would mean growers would have to start thinning crops - which would improve the quality of the vintage.
Wineries could also be making room for the 2009 vintage by getting rid of some of the 2008 wine, some of which was of questionable quality.
Mr Yealands said it was unfortunate that such pressures had hit the growing industry just before Marlborough had realised its potential.
New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan also believed there would be little planting next year.
He said that in tight economic times people still drank wine but they tended to go for something cheaper. However, he said winemakers should not start heading downmarket.
- NZPA
