Philip Gregan: NZ Winegrowers CEO on the 2025 Annual Report and the state of the industry

It appears other countries are still thirsty for our wine.  

The New Zealand Winegrowers 2025 Annual Report states exports are sitting at more than $2 billion per annum, fuelling investment in 42-thousand hectares of vineyards. 

The US remains the major export market despite a 3% drop at $762 million, and newer Asian markets are doing well. 

NZ Winegrowers CEO Philip Gregan says balancing supply and demand, and growing markets remain the two major challenges, which they're prepared to meet. 

He told Mike Hosking there are lots of market opportunities out there for the industry. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Annual insight into our beloved wine industry. Where are we
at tariffs? Have seen US exports four three percent, so
we do seven hundred and sixty two million dollars worth
of business with them. Emerging market's good news. China forty seven?
Is China an emerging market? They say China's up forty
seven percent, South Korea is up ninety two. Around ninety
percent of all our wine still heads offshore. Philip Grigan is,
of course, the Wine Grows CEO and as well as Pilip.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Morning to you, Good morning, Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Is China emerging? I would have thought it's emerged, while.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
From a wine perspective, it's still in the emerging stage.
From a New Zealand wine perspective, certainly, we've been active
in that market for about ten years and we're really
just starting to see some very very positive signs over
the last twelve to eighty months about consumer uptape of
our wines, which is very pleasing.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Good that South Korean number, I take it. It's off a
low base.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, it's gone from about twenty odd million up to
just under fifty million. It's a very similar story to China,
but again consumer driven, love our fresh wine styles really
resonating with consumers.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
I was reading the report, it's talking about varieties and
all that sort of stuff. Is it more than save blanc?

Speaker 2 (01:18):
It is that seventy on blancs the huge part of
what we do offshore. It's the wine that we're known for,
but pino pino gree that are doing well, shardonay. So
those other varieties are very important in telling a story

(01:38):
about what New Zealand, the New Zealand wine industry can
do and it resonates with consumers.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Let's talk headwinds, economies, do they play a part? And
what about health? In other words, people waking up and
we don't want to drink as much anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Well, we're certainly seeing change the change in demographics in
countries such as US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, baby
boomers not drinking as much as they were. The flip
side of the coin, there are plenty of opportunities for
us in those newer markets, which we've talked about China

(02:13):
and South Korea. But the change in drinking behaviors we
have to you know, in places such as New Zealand,
we've got to see us an opportunity as well. To
reach out to consumers in different ways and so that
you know they continue to be excited about New Zealand wine.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
A weird peak grape. I looked at the twenty five vintage, Lovely,
Lovely season, all of that sort of stuff, but a
lot of fruit was left behind, and I'm just wondering
if we're growing more than we can sell.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
Look, we've got a surplace at the moment, but that
was really because the twenty five vintage was absolutely exceptional bounties.
It was a huge crop. We could never have harvested
all the grapes that were out there. So unsurprising that
grapes were left behind on the vine this year. But no,

(03:05):
I don't think we're a peat grape. There are lots
of market opportunities out there for our industry, and once
we get through this current supply demand situation we've got
at the moment, we will see vineyards being planted again
and expansion in the vineyard area.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
I love to hear it, Philip go well, Philip Grigan,
who's the news in a one gross See you for
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