AUSTRALIAN WINE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 75, Issue 6443, 7 November 1947, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN WINE

PLENTIFUL SUPPLIES FOR NEW ZEALAND STILL A POPULAR DRINK Manufacturers of Australian wines had had two record vintages in the last two seasons, and with the prospect of a third, the industry could supply all the requirements of New Zealand importers, except for brandy and champagne, said Mr John Seppelts, a representative of a large Adelaide firm, in an interview. Brandy for export to New Zealand had to be five years old, compared with the two-year limit for most other countries, he said, and becausfe of a series of droughts in Australia a few years ago, it would be some time before supplies of five-year-old brandy would be available for New Zealand.

New Zealand import licenses for 1948 had been increased to 75 per cent of the value of imports in 1938, and while some brandies and champagnes were offering in Australia as well as wines, merchants usually bought the cheapest wines available to get a quantity. When European wines came back on the market, they would be compared with the cheaper Australian ones, much to the detriment of the latter products, said Mr Seppelts. However, with the increased quota for next year, merchants were now showing a tendency to buy the higher quality wines. The sale of wines in Australia rose to two and a half times its normal mark during the war, mainly because of a shortage of other beverages; but contrary to expectations did not drop back after the war, he said. Wine was still rationed by producers, but the record vintages had enabled reserve stocks to be released.