Volume 52 | August 6th 2020
The New South Wales Wine Industry Association represents the interests of all NSW wine producers and grape growers. Our aim is for the NSW Wine Industry Association to advocate for the NSW Wine Industry and provide information and a sense of belonging to our members.
WINE SECTOR LABOUR WORRIES
With Vintage 2021 just around the corner, Australian Grape & Wine is growing increasingly concerned that grape and wine businesses may not be able to access the workers they need at their busiest time of the year. This concern is shared by many businesses across Australia’s agriculture sector.
As always, evidence and data are critical to supporting requests for government assistance or policy decisions. The National Farmers Federation (NFF) has circulated a survey which aims to strengthen the evidence-base. It would be much appreciated if you could take a moment of your time to complete it.
Completing this survey will make sure the NFF’s representations to government recognise the needs of your business, your region, and the Australian grape and wine sector more broadly.

Link to survey HERE.
 
In addition to this survey, Australian Grape & Wine is also interested in better understanding whether you require skilled and technical workers from overseas in the coming months. For example, do you need technical specialists from Europe to service or maintain European made bottling or packaging machinery? Or, in a normal year does your business employ winemakers or cellar hands from overseas?

If you are willing to help them better understand the sector’s labour needs - so they can make the strongest possible case to government - please contact Lee McLean, General Manager, Government Relations & External Affairs via email – lee@agw.org.au
SEASONAL WORKER ACCESS TO NSW
In good news for the wine industry, and other farmers who have workers that they need to keep primary production moving in this State, the NSW Government has announced that seasonal workers who reside in the defined New South Wales and Victoria border zone (including towns such as Mildura) will be able to cross the border daily to undertake farm work in NSW by accessing a border zone resident permit.
In order to access the permit, seasonal workers will be required to declare they have not travelled in Victoria, outside the border zone, in the last 14 days. They will also be required to produce evidence of their place of residence and place of work. 
PREGNANCY LABEL GUIDE
The Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation has agreed to mandate a pregnancy warning label on all alcohol packaged for retail sale, with producers having 3 years (til 1 August 2023) to transition to the new arrangement. It is disappointing that the Forum has chosen to approve a design that requires winemakers to use three mandated colours – black, white and red. However, the decision has now been made s we must move forward. 
Australian Grape & Wine has created a document to provide producers with some practical guidance about what they need to do to comply with the decision. Please CLICK HERE to read it.

They have also created the formal FSANZ decision document for reference HERE. 
HALLIDAY AWARDS
The 2021 Halliday Wine Companion Awards have been announced. A massive congratulations to Brokenwood Wines who took home the title of 'Wine of the Year' for their 2018 Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz and Yarran Wines who were named 'Dark Horse Winery of the Year'.
Very well deserved, and great to see NSW represented in these Awards.
WINE WEBINARS
On 11 August, Wine Australia Senior Analysts Angelica Crabb and Sandy Hathaway will share a summary of the 2020 vintage report and analysis of the performance of export markets including the impact of COVID-19. Register HERE.

On Wednesday 19 August at 1pm, Tourism Australia, Ultimate Winery Experiences and Wine Australia will jointly present a webinar entitled Increasing tourism to your cellar door. It will cover domestic marketing insights for wine and tourism businesses.
Participation is free. Registration HERE
REMINDER: 2020 NSW WINE AWARDS NOW OPEN!
The 2020 ICC Sydney NSW Wine Awards is now open, with wines entries welcomed until 21 August.

All the Wine Show details are now up on our website and you can view the award categories and Rules & Regulations HERE. 

Enter your wine now HERE.
Stewards positions are also now available on Monday 28 September, Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30 and Thursday 1 October. We ask that each steward be able to fulfill a minimum of one whole days work (no half days).
 
As well as the traditional payment of a case of wine per day of stewarding, we are also looking in to being able to organising for some more formal wine judging training for stewards to take place during the judging week (TBC), so that this activity is even more educational for participants and a useful thing to put on any CV.
 
If you are interested, please click HERE
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