‘Who is driving the New Zealand wine industry?’ asks one grower. 

He senses that it may be a boardroom in France – or decision-makers in countries as far apart as Portugal and Australia, countries which may be having troubles with their own wine sales.

‘Supermarkets drive the New Zealand wine industry’ answers a winemaker, upset by the ‘we set your price’ attitude he feels he experiences in selling his product through major chains.

And so our place in the food chain can colour how we feel about overseas ownership within the industry. There are of course many things to be thankful for in these overseas investments. Repeating them may be tedious but is sometimes necessary:

• there are the billions of dollars in off-shore capital they have brought to New Zealand
• there are the levels of management expertise they have provided this country – and shared directly and indirectly
• they provide the route to many export markets where they have an experienced marketing force and a local knowledge of the movers in those markets
• through their networks they help to raise the profile of New Zealand wine internationally, which benefits everyone in the New Zealand industry.

The wine produced here is New Zealand wine. The land is here, the terroir factor is here, the labour is here. And no financial discipline can take that away.

The list of gains goes on. And so when the message comes to “think hard about whether you prune your vines this year as we may not be buying your grapes” - of course it’s a little scary. When it originates from the largest wine company in New Zealand (Pernod Ricard) and is delivered to Gisborne, a wine region very dependent on selling grapes to wineries, it instils a lot of concern.

And if Marlborough is awash with sauvignon blanc that can’t be sold, then the turn of the grape growers may indeed be coming in that region.

The fact that Pernod Ricard is overseas-owned should not be an issue. This may be a local decision to suit that company’s market needs just like any locally owned winery. When supply and demand don’t meet, this requires action regardless of domicile.

Indeed, if times are tough, why should one sector of the industry be protected from the down-turn? It’s not ‘being unfair’ as much as sharing the load and others in the supply chain will be slowed as well.

Wineries, bottle makers, stopper suppliers, carton makers, label printers, freight forwarders and so on will also miss out. It’s not just the grape growers, difficult though it is for them as their main source of income.

John Clark president of Gisborne Winegrowers tells it positively. There are other makers who may have need of supply for brands doing well. New styles to find, he says, if present chardonnay is off-the-boil. Perhaps other varieties should be planted.

There is a hiccough in the international wine market and it has affected everyone. The wine industry, being a longer term investment, feels this very strongly.

But there are still opportunities; a time of change perhaps as in 1976 in the great vine pull subsidy from the Government. It brought change – and growth.

It may be but a storm to be endured, like a bad frost.