Page 7 - New Updated Flipbook file

“Our reputation was enhanced by the exemplary way winegrowers responded to the COVID-19 crisis.”
events have needed to be cancelled, and with borders closed, our international visitor programme has been suspended. To meet members’ needs in this changed environment, we have responded with a refocused marketing effort, including digital options such as webinars and a more targeted suite of information.
As we look to the future it is clear that, for the short term at least, our sector is going to need to be more self-sufficient in terms of personnel, as access to offshore workers will be limited by border restrictions. With winter pruning nearly complete,
our focus is the workforce for vintage 2021. We are working with government agencies to attract new workers to our sector to ensure we have the personnel in place to bring in the 2021 crop.
We are fortunate we already have programmes in place to support our New Zealand based workforce. This year we held the Women in Wine mentoring programme for the second year, and due to popular demand added a NZW mentoring programme, available to all young
people irrespective of gender. We
held our first Young Leaders’ Forum to bring together and challenge twenty winegrowers from around the country, and both our Young Winemaker of
the Year and Young Viticulturist of the Year Competitions are attracting an excellent calibre of contestant.
Despite the challenges of the past
12 months, in the year ended 30 June 2020 our industry managed to achieve record exports totalling $1.92 billion, up 6% on last year and domestic sales of around $500 million.
Looking forward it seems likely that New Zealand’s borders will be largely closed for the coming year. We will be forced to re-think parts of our workforce, re-imagine our tourism activities, and cope with what seems likely to be a global recession.
For some grape and wine businesses, the outlook may be challenging. But as an industry, we will get through
it. By investing in the New Zealand wine category, by focussing on
good business practices, with good leadership and by keeping our eye on the fundamentals of our past and
current success – our reputation, our diversity and our sustainability
- we will build a strong foundation from which to continue to grow, and expand the global presence of
New Zealand wine.
In conclusion I want to acknowledge the sterling efforts of our CEO and staff particularly during the period
of Covid lockdown and subsequent. The initial effort to ensure we could operate as essential businesses followed by the constant flow of information to help ensure the safety of members and their staff during vintage was no small task. Working from home, reduced hours, reliance on zoom meetings and the absence of the “water cooler” conversations applied additional pressures and that they have shepherded our industry through in these circumstances deserves all our appreciation.
Their challenges and those of the Board are by no means over, but our reputation, diversity and sustainability put us in good stead to navigate the turbulent waters ahead.
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NZW 200 YEARS CELEBRATION