The Parallax team recently attended the Wine Communicators of Australia Wine Growth Summit, an annual event that shares industry knowledge to help wine businesses succeed.

Here are my top takeaways:

1. Change is the only constant

Last year’s catchword was “China”. This year it’s “Geopolitical Turmoil”. Who would've thought? Anna Hooper from Australian Grape & Wine promised positive talking points, but they were scarce amid oversupply, global instability, climate change and shifting drinking habits. Peter Bailey from Wine Australia followed with the cheery news that global wine consumption could drop 20% over the next decade. That equates to 4x Australia’s total wine production!

We all needed a cup of tea and a muffin to lift spirits during the break.

Silver linings? Matthew Deller MW, GM at Wirra Wirra, thinks a 10% US tariff won’t hurt much, offset by the dropping Aussie dollar. It is our 2nd largest export market after China, and one Wirra Wirra will keep focusing on. Sacha Timaeus from Torbreck shared success in markets few in the industry consider, like Poland and Kazakhstan. This reminded me of Wayne Gretzky, who famously said great players skate to where the puck will be, not where it’s been. Conversely, Fiona Findlay from Voyager Estate pulled back on export markets to focus on just SE Asia and UK whilst cutting SKUs exported, resulting in reduced costs, increased ROI and a far smaller carbon footprint.

Different strokes for different folks.

2. Stop seeing wine as wine

Justin Kosmina from The Hidden Sea shared their purpose-led brand, which removes plastic bottles from oceans—10 removed per bottle sold, 32 million so far. Jo Watkins introduced Pure Glow, a dry rosé low in alcohol and infused with marine collagen, following functional beverage trends, blurring categories and attracting a new cohort to the world of wine. In both cases, brand and positioning are entwined, not simply tacked on.

3. The 20-year-olds still don’t like us

They never really did, but Sandy Mayo, CMO at Accolade Wines, showed how to engage them. They find wine confusing and intimidating. Other alcohol categories do a far better job connecting with this group. Start by asking consumers what they want, retailers what they need, and don’t be constrained by what’s been done before (sounds like Wayne again).

4. A mischief of mice

Sacha Timaeus again. Sacha spoke about an old employer referring to secondary export markets as rats and mice. The collective noun for these animals is a mischief. As industry consultant Howard Duncan noted heart was missing from wine business, perhaps it’s time to start making mischief again.
—
Matt Remphrey