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New Zealand's smaller wineries are struggling to survive, making it difficult for the industry to provide the range of wines it needs, says winemaker Kim Crawford.
For many wineries, yesterday marked the release of the latest vintage of the dominant export wine, Marlborough sauvignon blanc.
"I think it's
[sauvignon blanc] 75 per cent of our exports now, so it's a cornerstone of our industry really," Crawford said.
"It's a strong leg but it's also a vulnerable leg.
"If sauvignon blanc suddenly went out of favour we'd have major problems in this industry."
Crawford said most winemakers were trying to diversify further into other wines including pinot noir.
"New Zealand's big problem is that most of our small wineries are really struggling in terms of paying the bills."
A report by Deloitte showed producers making less than 200,000 litres a year - that's 89 per cent of all wineries - were losing money.
However, it was the smaller wineries that developed the product diversity taken up by large scale producers, Crawford said.
"They're going to wait and see the little guys who launch first and they'll explore the styles, and then the big boys just come along and provide the volume afterwards," he said.
Rabobank International global industry specialist in wines and spirits Arend Heijbroek said the industry needed to diversify to ensure future growth.
New Zealand Winegrowers was forecasting export sales to grow by about $300,000 to reach $1 billion in 2010, pushing near $2 billion by 2015.
"There is still unfulfilled demand for Marlborough sauvignon blanc and while that is good for Marlborough producers, for other regions it is much more complicated to bring the message across and sell their wines at the required prices," Heijbroek said.
Three-quarters of production growth since 2000 had come from Marlborough, which could grow from about 12,800ha to between 18,000 and 20,000ha by 2010 before reaching its limitations, Heijbroek said.
"However, as Marlborough reaches these boundaries it will be up to other regions to pick up the expansion."
Crawford would like to see wineries in New Zealand receive the sort of assistance available in Australia, where producers were given up to A$500,000 ($584,608) in returned tax.
"If we had that same thing here for local sales it would be a huge plus for the smaller producers," he said.
"A lot of the smaller guys can't go to the export markets too often because they haven't got enough money and if you don't go, you can't grow."
