23 Aug 2013

Caution on wine supply and demand urged

1:07 pm on 23 August 2013

New Zealand Winegowers is calling for some discipline in the wake of this year's record harvest.

The 2013 crop is 28% bigger than the 2012 harvest and 5% ahead of the year before that.

Winemakers have welcomed the improved supply as they look to continuing building exports. But NZ Winegowers chair Steve Green is urging caution.

He said a new sense of optimism in the industry has led to new vineyard plantings, mostly in the Marlborough region.

But, he said, the industry has to be careful not to let supply get out of kilter with demand again.