June 7, 2026 • 6 mins
Our viticulture correspondent looks at an industry facing a wine glut and some headwinds as younger consumers look for products with less alcohol and fewer calories.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And has giveaway time here on the country. We're going
to give away a couple of fun packs courtesy of
aviticulture correspondent Blair Blizzard MacLean based out of Blenham. Now
we're going to look at some of the headwinds facing
the wine industry and what we can do about it
and what you can do about it as a consumer.
But first, Blair, I cannot believe that a man of
your experienced gravitas and let's just face it straight out celebrity,
(00:24):
has never been to field Days afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Jane. Yeah, hard to believe actually sometimes so as a
horticulturalists we do take that June period off on holiday
and go for a bit of a leave. So I
haven't been here for some of that. But no, I
haven't managed to get a doughnut score like you have
pretty much over the last years. You've been going well.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
PGG Wrights and has a huge presence at field Days.
We're going to do some stuff there on Wednesday afternoon
with the IHC, which I'm really looking forward to. But
they could chuck you in a corner bleaar. You could
give away a few poor a few savs and get
the punters coming in.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Certainly be given away a bit of seven and blanc,
and there's some great seven blanc out there, probably just
sixty or seventy million liters too much at the moment. Unfortunately.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Talk to me because I read an interesting story online
this morning on Farmers Weekly Credit where credits due about
low alcohol wine and low alcohol pino noir and how
they're basically doing it on the grape rather than in
the lab.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, a lot of work done in the field, Jamie
to get low alcohol wine. A lot of canopy management,
lot of water management, and taking the fruit early so
the acids are all correct. Doctor John Forrest and Bridget
Forest and their daughter Beef actually started a lot of that,
probably nearly two decades ago, doing low alcohol wine. And
(01:44):
then most other wineries are doing some part of the portfolio,
you know, having that wine it's sort of nine percent
to sometimes eight percent alcohol, and the magic is trying
to have it taste exactly like a normal full alcohol one.
Watch a lot of them are doing now, so you know,
the big health kick and everyone trying to get into
having better, you know, looking after theybodies. Less alcohol you
(02:09):
can take a bottle of. Actually, they're reasoning I've had
their reasoning before. Low alcohol reasoning is very good as well,
So you get into that.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So does less alcohol equate to less calories?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yes, it does, yep, and they also they'll actually have
that on the label. They have like low carbon low
alcohol as well. Side it's good for you all around.
And we've got away surplus of wine at the moment,
so yeah, we need to be drinking more of that.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
The industry is really facing some headwinds at the moment worldwide.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah, so the same thing. The whole world is just
drinking less alcohol, looking for more healthy options, the whole
dietary thing so and more food, better food, you know,
hence where the meat's going so well. So yeah, there's
some certainly changes in the industry and we've got to
focus on doing quality booze, which we are. The twenty
(03:01):
twenty six seven blank is fantastic. I've knocked a couple
of those over. So yeah, we're just we're in this
situation now where we've probably got seventy one million leaders
too much servion blanc or wine in yelland and wine
companies are looking at that and capping growers' volumes and
just trying to focus on quality.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Are their growers who have gotten nowhere for their grapes
to grow this season to go? Should I say yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
JAMMI Yeah, every day or every week I talk to
growers who have either been given notice of their contracts.
But some of these contracts have still got two or
three years to go or have lost their contract completely
we think, And it's really hard to get a number
on it, but it's at least a couple to three
thousand hecties which is ten percent of the Marlborough grape
(03:50):
growing area that could be either uncontracted mothboard somewhere they
put the vines to sleep pretty much for a year
and just get the sheep in to graze it, or
Pep Cris lost the contracts. So yeah, it's a bit
tough here at the moment. And beautiful Melbourne.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Well, let's cheer people up because you did mention the
forest family there behind Forest of State wines and they,
as you say, have been producing low alcohol wines for
a long time. So have fun packs today, one for
the North Island, one for the South. What do we got?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, so you're talking about lower alcohol pinu noir. The
pin and Wi is very good, so they're going to
do a mixed fun pack for the North Island and
one for the South Island of pen and Noi Servion
blanc Reese Lean and maybe chuck your favorite in there
with the cougar juice Jamie into the six packs. So yeah,
we're going to give away some low alcohol wine from
(04:44):
Forest and State Wines.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Well there you go, and of course the cougar juice
is slang for a Peni Greek. Now we're going to
test your spelling ability out there in God's own if
you want to win the fun packs, We've got one
for the North Island, one for the South Island. You
need to text us on five double o nine and
you need to right Forest Estate Wines and you've got
to spell it correctly or else we'll eliminate you. So
(05:06):
just google it, get the spelling right five double oh nine,
right Forest Estate Wines, your name and your career address
so Blair can get it out to you. And just
before I go, Blair, thank you very much and thank
you Forrest the State Wines for offering a couple of
fun packs today. You're raising money, I think for the
rescue chopper in your region. You want an all Blacks jersey.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yes, yeh, Jamie, thanks thanks for that for the plug
here Nelson Mulble Rescue Helicopter. We're having a fundraiser on
the fifteenth August. It's going to be a quiz night.
I think they've got a good EMC and we're having
an option. So we're after an all black signed all
black jersey if we can. If anybody knows or any
jerseys really in the Highlanders would be great, but an
all black one would be primo. So yeah, anybody out
(05:48):
there or wanting to donate to that, give me a
call on PG fruit Feed Blenham here and yeah and
we'll take anything.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Or just text me on five double O nine and
I'll get it to you. Olly Barrett might better find
a jersey for you. Failing that, I could give you
a personally signed Riversdole Rugby jersey. Would you like that
from the nineteen eighties that I can't fit anymore?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
No, My rock for one doesn't fit either. So there's
no dirt on that either.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
No. No, well there's no white chalk on it because
you never got over the line. That's another story for
another day. Blair Blizzard MacLean, thanks for your time today
on the country.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Thanks Jamie,
And has giveaway time here on the country. We're going
to give away a couple of fun packs courtesy of
aviticulture correspondent Blair Blizzard MacLean based out of Blenham. Now
we're going to look at some of the headwinds facing
the wine industry and what we can do about it
and what you can do about it as a consumer.
But first, Blair, I cannot believe that a man of
your experienced gravitas and let's just face it straight out celebrity,
(00:24):
has never been to field Days afternoon.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Jane. Yeah, hard to believe actually sometimes so as a
horticulturalists we do take that June period off on holiday
and go for a bit of a leave. So I
haven't been here for some of that. But no, I
haven't managed to get a doughnut score like you have
pretty much over the last years. You've been going well.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
PGG Wrights and has a huge presence at field Days.
We're going to do some stuff there on Wednesday afternoon
with the IHC, which I'm really looking forward to. But
they could chuck you in a corner bleaar. You could
give away a few poor a few savs and get
the punters coming in.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Certainly be given away a bit of seven and blanc,
and there's some great seven blanc out there, probably just
sixty or seventy million liters too much at the moment. Unfortunately.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Talk to me because I read an interesting story online
this morning on Farmers Weekly Credit where credits due about
low alcohol wine and low alcohol pino noir and how
they're basically doing it on the grape rather than in
the lab.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, a lot of work done in the field, Jamie
to get low alcohol wine. A lot of canopy management,
lot of water management, and taking the fruit early so
the acids are all correct. Doctor John Forrest and Bridget
Forest and their daughter Beef actually started a lot of that,
probably nearly two decades ago, doing low alcohol wine. And
(01:44):
then most other wineries are doing some part of the portfolio,
you know, having that wine it's sort of nine percent
to sometimes eight percent alcohol, and the magic is trying
to have it taste exactly like a normal full alcohol one.
Watch a lot of them are doing now, so you know,
the big health kick and everyone trying to get into
having better, you know, looking after theybodies. Less alcohol you
(02:09):
can take a bottle of. Actually, they're reasoning I've had
their reasoning before. Low alcohol reasoning is very good as well,
So you get into that.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So does less alcohol equate to less calories?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yes, it does, yep, and they also they'll actually have
that on the label. They have like low carbon low
alcohol as well. Side it's good for you all around.
And we've got away surplus of wine at the moment,
so yeah, we need to be drinking more of that.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
The industry is really facing some headwinds at the moment worldwide.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah, so the same thing. The whole world is just
drinking less alcohol, looking for more healthy options, the whole
dietary thing so and more food, better food, you know,
hence where the meat's going so well. So yeah, there's
some certainly changes in the industry and we've got to
focus on doing quality booze, which we are. The twenty
(03:01):
twenty six seven blank is fantastic. I've knocked a couple
of those over. So yeah, we're just we're in this
situation now where we've probably got seventy one million leaders
too much servion blanc or wine in yelland and wine
companies are looking at that and capping growers' volumes and
just trying to focus on quality.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Are their growers who have gotten nowhere for their grapes
to grow this season to go? Should I say yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
JAMMI Yeah, every day or every week I talk to
growers who have either been given notice of their contracts.
But some of these contracts have still got two or
three years to go or have lost their contract completely
we think, And it's really hard to get a number
on it, but it's at least a couple to three
thousand hecties which is ten percent of the Marlborough grape
(03:50):
growing area that could be either uncontracted mothboard somewhere they
put the vines to sleep pretty much for a year
and just get the sheep in to graze it, or
Pep Cris lost the contracts. So yeah, it's a bit
tough here at the moment. And beautiful Melbourne.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Well, let's cheer people up because you did mention the
forest family there behind Forest of State wines and they,
as you say, have been producing low alcohol wines for
a long time. So have fun packs today, one for
the North Island, one for the South. What do we got?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, so you're talking about lower alcohol pinu noir. The
pin and Wi is very good, so they're going to
do a mixed fun pack for the North Island and
one for the South Island of pen and Noi Servion
blanc Reese Lean and maybe chuck your favorite in there
with the cougar juice Jamie into the six packs. So yeah,
we're going to give away some low alcohol wine from
(04:44):
Forest and State Wines.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Well there you go, and of course the cougar juice
is slang for a Peni Greek. Now we're going to
test your spelling ability out there in God's own if
you want to win the fun packs, We've got one
for the North Island, one for the South Island. You
need to text us on five double o nine and
you need to right Forest Estate Wines and you've got
to spell it correctly or else we'll eliminate you. So
(05:06):
just google it, get the spelling right five double oh nine,
right Forest Estate Wines, your name and your career address
so Blair can get it out to you. And just
before I go, Blair, thank you very much and thank
you Forrest the State Wines for offering a couple of
fun packs today. You're raising money, I think for the
rescue chopper in your region. You want an all Blacks jersey.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yes, yeh, Jamie, thanks thanks for that for the plug
here Nelson Mulble Rescue Helicopter. We're having a fundraiser on
the fifteenth August. It's going to be a quiz night.
I think they've got a good EMC and we're having
an option. So we're after an all black signed all
black jersey if we can. If anybody knows or any
jerseys really in the Highlanders would be great, but an
all black one would be primo. So yeah, anybody out
(05:48):
there or wanting to donate to that, give me a
call on PG fruit Feed Blenham here and yeah and
we'll take anything.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Or just text me on five double O nine and
I'll get it to you. Olly Barrett might better find
a jersey for you. Failing that, I could give you
a personally signed Riversdole Rugby jersey. Would you like that
from the nineteen eighties that I can't fit anymore?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
No, My rock for one doesn't fit either. So there's
no dirt on that either.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
No. No, well there's no white chalk on it because
you never got over the line. That's another story for
another day. Blair Blizzard MacLean, thanks for your time today
on the country.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Thanks Jamie,
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