THE NEW ZEALAND WINE INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 645, 23 October 1909, Page 6

THE NEW ZEALAND WINE INDUSTRY.

~ SiriT-I observe that the Commonwealth Government arc endeavouring to have.'.'the' duty on ■ Australian twines, coming into the Dominion, ..reduced-to 2s. per gallon,, the samo nmohh't'.paid- African'wines coming fnto.Ncw Zealand;-: .:,;;■..,..'...• .'v.'lf (our Government, agree -to 'do .'this tho result .-.will, bo: "disastrous/to J tho viticultural industry: in thei Dominion,; as'it would bo ini.possible,,to.competeiagainst. flic cheap labour, and more favouiablp climatic''conditions of AusSouths Africa. ,Onr nioister climate makes', it, more -,difficult,-, to. cone with such' diseases' as "black'spot and mildew, and the front scarcity of skilled labour is also a hoavy andicap. Instead,, therefore,. of lowering the present duty on Australian wines, .it would be advisable to raise the duty on South African wine to that, on- Australian' wino, viz., ss: per gallon. The Government:have spent many thousands of: pounds- in ostablishing experimental stations (notably at.Wacrenga in the Waikato district, aud Arataki in Hawko's Bay) for" the purpose 1 of "demonstrating to in- ' teuuiug vinejjrowers whiuli is the most suitable 1

stock or stocks' for. ■ certain, districts or situations, as well as. to: show which stock'is. best suited to the most valuable wine, and dessert varieties., This. work has been carried on for some, years and many-people haveplanted vineyards on the strength of the protection given l by Government. ■•Many'of the vineyards lately planted.are thoproperty of: comparatively: poor men, .and if the market is swamped with Australian and - South'' African wine coming in at a reduced duty,' their outlook is far from promising. '; The viticuHnrol' and" wine-making industry, requires a'considerable amount of capital to start' on, as there is the cost, of land, vines, besides'.attention for''three or four years before anything like a crop is harvested. • Then there is the cost of wine-making machinery for crushing and-'pressing; also'cellarage and casks must be provided for three years' crops, so that the first vintage will be three years old when put on the market. • Of course wine maybe sold at-less than''.three years old, but to do it and the consumer justice, I think, in thq interests of the industry, it is not advisable to put wine on .tho market at less than three years old. . It has been proved beyond doubt that good sound wines of the'claret and hock type can'be produced in the Dominion, and it is decidedly the duty of tho Government to foster and protect an . indnstry which employs such a largo amount of labour per acre and keeps money in the country by supplying a demand that otherwise would bo catered for by some other country.—l am, etc, ' • . J. 0. CRAIKE, / Manager, To Mata Vineyard, Hawke's Bay.