Wine Australia has penned a new deal with the Australian Wine Research Institute extending its funding commitment until the end of 2030.
This comes after the AWRI was forced to downsize in 2024 due to ongoing financial pressures related to levy revenue reductions, which are linked to crush size. The new agreement marks a continuation of longstanding investment and seeks to provide the AWRI with certainty and flexibility moving forwards.
Wine Australia CEO Dr Martin Cole says the agreement “has been developed collaboratively” with the AWRI to target “the priorities industry set out in the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan to deliver practical outcomes for grape and wine businesses.”
He continues: “Long-term capability is important and this agreement reflects our shared focus on maintaining essential services industry relies on day-to-day, investing in core grape and wine-focused research, and continuing to build the skills, knowledge and innovation needed to support greater impact for grape and wine businesses into the future.”
The 4.5 year Wine Australia-AWRI agreement includes more than $28 million in investment, spread across direct funding, industry R&D levies, and matching Commonwealth Government co-investment.
Further funding may also be delivered through the Australian Wine Future Fund.
The agreement ensures that services relied on by Australian wine businesses will remain accessible regardless of fluctuations in annual R&D levy revenue, which is linked to crush size. These include access to technical information, regulatory support and market access resources.
The renewed funding agreement also means that the AWRI will remain Wine Australia’s largest research partner.
“AWRI has supported Australian growers and winemakers for more than 70 years and this agreement means we can keep delivering research and services to industry,” said Dr Mark Krstic, AWRI Managing Director.
“The AWRI team appreciate the support that Wine Australia provides and are excited about their continued commitment to deliver high priority tangible innovation outcomes. We are focused on providing practical solutions and information that industry can use straight away, while also delivering innovation that supports the sector’s longer-term resilience and sustainability.”
The following five industry priorities will be addressed under the new agreement:
product innovation supporting wine quality and stylewine process optimisation, technologies and strategies for managing taints, flavour faults and stability riskssustainability, circularity and strategies to address climate change, including reducing inputssupport for the Australian grape and wine sector market access strategy, andenabling practice change at scale, delivering the AWRI Helpdesk and information services, and supporting technical grape growing and winemaking capability.
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