Introduction
In the last two centuries, the wine industry of Australia has tremendously grown. The industry is popular for its innovation, quality products, as well as its vastness in production.Australia is currently among the top ten producers of wine in the world. The country is also among the few countries that offer a wide variety of wine, which is not achieved by other wine producing countries(Australia.gov, 2017).The wine industry in Australia contributes approximately USD40.2 billion of revenue and supports an estimated 173,000 part time and full time workersin Australia (WineAustralia, 2017). The wine industry is thus a major income earner in Australia. Nonetheless, there are various factors that should be taken into consideration to determine the sustainability of the industry in future; the environmental impacts, the effect on economy, social impacts, the resources used, and incomes. This report outlines and explains various and opposing positions on the environmental sustainability of the Australian Wine Industry as a whole.
Production Overview
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017), in the 2012-2013 financial year, 1.75 million tons of grape fruits were crushed; that is, 850,900 tons of white grapes were crushed in addition to another 897,500 tons of red grapes. This shows that farming of grapes is done on a large scale in the region. Consequently, 1.23 billion liters of wine was produced in the 2012-2013 financial year (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017). About 1.0% accounted for fortified wine production, 45.6% for white table wine, and 53.5% of rose and red table wine. As of June 2013, 1.78 billion liters of wine were produced. Of the 1.78 billion liters of wine, 91.2% consisted of table wine, 1.2% of beverage wine, 3.4% of fortified wine, and 4.1% sparkling wine (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017). In the same financial year, 487.7 million liters of wine were sold for $2,369.2 million domestically at an average of $4.86 per liter (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017).
Table 1: Wine and Grape Industry 2012–2013
| Value | |
| Fresh grapes crushed (t) | 1 748 363 |
| Beverage wine production (million L) | 1 231.0 |
| Beverage wine inventories (million L) | 1 775.7 |
| Domestic sales of Australian wine (a) (million L) | 487.7 |
| Domestic sales value of Australian wine ($m) | 2 369.2 |
Adapted from Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017).
Table 2: Wine Production
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | ||
| Type | ‘000 L | ‘000 L | ‘000 L | ‘000 L | ‘000 L | |
| Beverage wine | ||||||
| Fortified (b) | 11 160 | 14 582 | 17 610 | 14 453 | 11 933 | |
| Unfortified | 1 171 464 | 1 127 715 | 1 100 226 | 1 211 466 | 1 219 079 | |
| Total | 1 182 624 | 1 142 297 | 1 117 836 | 1 225 919 | 1 231 012 | |
| Distillation wine (c) | 7 208 | 9 359 | 8 150 | 10 226 | 14 589 | |
| Gross total wine | 1 189 832 | 1 151 656 | 1 125 986 | 1 236 145 | 1 245 601 | |
| Net total wine (d) | 1 187 738 | 1 149 902 | 1 123 036 | 1 234 181 | 1 243 623 | |
Adapted from Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017).
Australia has sixty regions that produce wine: New South Wales, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Southwest Western Australia. The industry is taken seriously by Australians because it attracts international visitors and Australian holidaymakers. Wine festivals are also common in most regions. Australia is special because it contains different soils and climates that produce all the major wine types (Australia, 2017). This shows that the industry should be highly valued since most countries cannot support the growth of a wide variety of grapes.
The country has also invested in research and education to ensure that innovations are made and better methods of production are sought. Viticulturalists in Australia have developed great techniques for vine management, which are now used worldwide. Different ways of producing wines using fewer chemicals have also been discovered thus conserving the environment. This also shows that the industry is well organized and is capable of responding to adverse changes that may happen.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Transporting wine in bulk reduces emission of green-house gases. However, glass production is a major emitter of the gases. Abbott et al. (2016) posit that the main contributors of greenhouse gas emission in the wine industry are glass packaging and transportation. On the other hand, winemaking and grape growing also lead to such emissions. Lereboullet, Beltrando and Bardsle (2013) show that other contributors of emission include; electricity used on sites, diesel used, and electricity used in irrigation. Due to the increased amount of emissions, most producers have taken measures to use alternative energy sources. Since refrigeration is the biggest consumer of electricity, some of the strategies used to reduce the amount used include; increasing brine temperature, improving refrigeration efficiency, and insulation. Since the industry has discovered some of the pressures it causes on the environment and measures to reduce the effect, it shows an aspect of sustainability since operations are improved for a better future.
Figure 1. Greenhouse gas emission from wine production adapted from Abbott et al. (2016)
Since packaging is also a large consumer of electricity, most wine producers are keen on it to reduce its pressure on the environment. Abbott et al. (2016) opine that Australia is well known for packaging innovations that lead to less carbon emissions. Some of the strategies applied include; use of screw caps and cask invention to lower emissions, to minimize production costs, and to improve technical performance (Abbott et al., 2016). Production of glass requires enormous amount of energy due to the large amount of temperature required to melt materials. To reduce such effects, cask packaging in Australia has been made it easy to manufacture glasses, reducing emissions. Another strategy used to reduce emissions includes using lightweight glasses. Initially a 750ml glass bottle weighed 500g, but has now been reduced to 330g, thus reducing the energy used in glass production and subsequently the carbon emissions during such processes (Abbott et al., 2016). Moreover, encouraging recycling of bottles has helped in reducing the manufacturer of new bottles and also prevent unnecessary disposals. Application of such strategies show that the industry could be sustainable in the long run because improvements are made to ensure less energy is consumed, thus, reducing the greenhouse gases emitted.
Climate Adaptation
Winemakers and grape growers must come up with management strategies to reduce long term and short term climate change impacts on vineyards. The Australian wine and grape community has developed other vineyard management strategies to manage the effects of drought, fire risks, heatwaves, and salinity to ensure that wine and grapes produced remain of high quality (Wineaustralia, 2017). Vineyards are exposed to most vulnerability regarding climate change in Australia.
According to Giuliani, Morrison and Rabellotti (2011), some of the responses made in the vineyards include increased irrigation efficiency, improved canopy management, alternative rootstocks/varieties, improved floor management to increase moisture retaining capacity of soil, and modified irrigation practices. Other strategies include delayed pruning to manipulate the dates set for harvests and establishing vineyards in cold regions. The Australian government invests in intensive research on the vineyards and the wine industry at large (Wineaustralia, 2017). Research activities address the effects of changing climate, thus, making it possible to make informed decisions on future investment and management.
Major Challenge Faced
Despite the measures taken to reduce energy consumption and emission of greenhouse gases, climate change is a major challenge in all regions in Australia. Vines are reported to ripen in lesser days than before. The rate reduces by one or two days each year due to high temperatures. This trend could lead to abandonment of traditional vine varieties in future especially in warmer areas. Other common climatic factors include; drought, untimely rains, and bushfires. Additionally, there are increased prices of water and reduced water allocations. Such climatic impacts should not be taken lightly because they could jeopardize the industry in future (Abbott et al., 2016). However, the fact that the country is still conducting vigorous research and applying environment friendly strategies in wine production shows that progress will be made towards sustainability of wine production.
Conclusion
The wine production industry of Australia is a major income earner to the country. The main challenge affecting wine production in the region is climate change. Various strategies have been put in place to ensure that energy consumption is regulated to reduce its impact on the environment. Australia leads in wine innovations and has also invested in research activities to help reduce emission of greenhouse gases. All major wine producers in Australia have employed different strategies of reducing emission of greenhouse gases thus making progress towards curbing climate change. The future of Australian wine industry still remains bright as shown by the high production rate, the huge incomes earned, and the strategies used to ensure that production of wine is environment friendly.
Bibliography
Abbott, T., Longbottom, M., Wilkes, E. and Johnson, D., 2016. Assessing the environmental credentials of Australian wine. Wine and viticulture journal, (1), p.9.
Australia.gov, (2017). Australia’s wine industry | australia.gov.au. [online] Available at: http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/australias-wine-industry [Accessed 12 May 2017].
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017). 1329.0 – Australian Wine and Grape Industry, 2012-13. [online] Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1329.0Main%20Features22012-13 [Accessed 12 May 2017].
Giuliani, E., Morrison, A. and Rabellotti, R. eds., 2011. Innovation and technological catch-up: The changing geography of wine production. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Lereboullet, A.L., Beltrando, G. and Bardsley, D.K., 2013. Socio-ecological adaptation to climate change: A comparative case study from the Mediterranean wine industry in France and Australia. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 164, pp.273-285.
Wine Australia. (2017). Wine Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.wineaustralia.com/ [Accessed 12 May 2017].
