The Australian wine industry comes together in Adelaide today with the opening of the 17th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC), which also incorporates the Australian Grape & Wine Outlook Conference.
Today’s Outlook sessions continue a partnership established in 2016 to bring the business and technical sides of the grape and wine community together. The conference is complemented by WineTech, Australia’s premier exhibition of wine technology, equipment and services, delivered in partnership with Wine Industry Suppliers Australia and managed by Fair Events.
After a Kaurna welcome to country by Michael O’Brien and a formal opening by The Hon. Tim Whetstone, Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, the first two sessions of the conference focus on supply and demand outlook and the future of the Australian wine sector.
Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Tim Whetstone formally opened the event
Key speakers include Andreas Clark from Wine Australia, Mick Keogh from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Warren Randall from Seppeltsfield, Tony Battaglene from Australian Grape & Wine, Maggie Zhou from Alibaba Group and Shane Tremble from Endeavour Drinks Group.
The third session, chaired by Jane Thomson from The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society and founder of the Australian Women in Wine Awards, breaks new ground for the AWITC, with a focus on gender diversity and its importance to the wine sector’s continuing success.
International speaker Sandra Taylor. from Sustainable Business International (USA). will provide a perspective on the importance of women as wine purchasers in the US and UK markets. Elizabeth Ward from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will present a case study of promoting women in leadership and Bronwyn Klei from Netball SA will challenge the audience to learn from what is happening in the world of sport. Kristy Keyte and Carolyn Coon from Treasury Wine Estates will describe a gender diversity and workplace inclusion program successfully applied within their business.
Corrina Wright introduces the opening session on supply and demand outlook
Previewing the Outlook sessions, Australian Grape & Wine CEO Tony Battaglene said: “The continuing partnership between Outlook and the AWITC allows us to reach a broader audience with a strong mix of policy, business and marketing content. This year’s session on diversity reflects an increasing focus for Australian Grape & Wine, providing leadership in this area and driving uptake of the Diversity and Equality Charter for the wine sector”.
AWITC Chair, Dr Dan Johnson said: “The sessions focused on the future directions and diversity of our industry will be extremely valuable for all attendees, wherever they sit along the value chain. Building strong ties between the business and production arms of the grape and wine community can only bring benefits for all. The AWITC values its continuing partnership with Australian Grape & Wine to include Outlook sessions as part of our industry’s biggest event”.
The conference continues until Wednesday 24 July, with further key themes including AgTech, doing business in a changing climate, the wine sensory experience and opportunities from new winemaking technologies.
