December 2019 – Finding the right Contract Winemaker

Extra acres present industry with big processing challenge

The acreage of vines planted in recent years is encouraging evidence of the huge optimism in the sector, but it’s creating a challenge which the industry is yet to fully address – where do we find the processing capacity?

According to WineGB Chairman Simon Robinson, plantings of about 0.5 million vines in 2016, 1 million in 2017, 1.6 million in 2018 and 3 million in 2019, with the prospect of more in 2020, could result in a “serious shortage” of capacity.

“This potential shortfall has become more obvious over the past couple of years because of the high yields and it will become increasingly so as these new vines come to maturity,” he says.

 

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