Wine Australia and Wine Victoria form A$886,667 partnership for Victorian wineries

Wine Australia and Wine Victoria said on Thursday, November 12, that they had formed a three-year partnership worth A$886,667 to fund projects aimed at improving the competitiveness of vineyards and wineries in Victoria, the wine-producing state in southeastern Australia.

According to a joint announcement published by Wine Australia, the program combines A$540,000 in funding from the Victorian government, secured by Wine Victoria, with A$346,667 in co-investment from Wine Australia through its Australian Wine Future Fund. Based on the announced total, the government contribution accounts for about 60.9% of the package and Wine Australia’s share represents about 39.1%.

The money was announced as funding for future work, not as spending already carried out. The organizations did not publish a year-by-year breakdown of the budget or estimates for how much the program might raise sales, exports or productivity.

The partnership is intended to support the Victorian Wine Strategy 2025-2030 and to align with the national One Grape & Wine Sector Plan. Wine Australia is the national statutory body responsible for research, market development and regulatory services for Australian wine. Wine Victoria is the industry association representing grapegrowers and winemakers across the state’s 21 wine regions.

The groups said the funding will be directed toward projects focused on sustainability, biosecurity preparedness, business decision-making and export capability. The work is expected to include field days, workshops, grower demonstrations, webinars, digital resources, benchmarking tools, education on sustainability and biosecurity, and consumer market insights designed to help wineries make commercial and export decisions.

Martin Cole, chief executive of Wine Australia, said the partnership was designed to turn research, technical expertise and market intelligence into practical information for wine businesses. In the statement, he said the collaboration would help Victorian producers adopt sustainable practices, strengthen biosecurity planning, make more informed business decisions and use consumer insights from export markets.

Stephanie Duboudin, chief executive of Wine Victoria, said the program would help speed up delivery of the state’s wine strategy and give producers practical resources to address changing business conditions. She said wineries and grape growers were operating in an environment with rising expectations around sustainability, biosecurity, business performance and market competitiveness.

The initiative will focus on four broad areas. One is sustainable winegrowing, with support for businesses seeking to improve environmental performance. Another is biosecurity and industry preparedness, including efforts to raise awareness of risks and improve readiness. A third area is data and better business decisions, aimed at helping producers use financial and operational information more effectively. The fourth is export consumer insights, which is intended to translate market research into guidance that wineries can use when evaluating export opportunities.

Wine Australia said the Victorian partnership draws on its Research & Innovation Fund, a part of the Australian Wine Future Fund that is intended to attract co-investment for projects with practical industry outcomes. The organization said that broader fund is expected to generate A$50 million for the Australian grape and wine sector over five years through a mix of Commonwealth matching, federal and state grants, and partner investment. Of that total, A$35 million is targeted for research and innovation projects, while A$15 million is targeted for a venture investment portfolio aimed at closing innovation gaps.

The November 12 announcement did not identify which Victorian regions or individual businesses would receive support first, and it did not list specific performance targets for the three-year collaboration. It said the funding would expand extension services, knowledge transfer, adoption of technical information and capability-building activities across the state.