Join CEO Tony Battaglene with our guest, CEO of Limestone Coast Wine and former Hawthorn FC captain, Richie Vandenberg. As a 4th generation grape grower, Richie talks to us about his move from the family vineyard to football.  He discusses his return to the industry and his passion for the environment, which inspired him to change the goal posts with his wine brand, The Hidden Sea - a brand with a conscience.  The Hidden Sea is proving to be a brand with a purpose by making it their mission to remove plastic waste from the world’s oceans, and help consumers feel part of something big ..read more

Join Tony Battaglene and guest Henrik Wallgren, Business Services Manager for the South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA), as they discuss the use of heavy vehicles in the Australian wine industry - particularly throughout Vintage, and the Registered National Industry Code of Practice.  They also address the Changes to the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws that were introduced on 1 October 2018.    Chain of Responsibility is designed to ensure everyone in the supply chain shares responsibility of the process, so that breaches of the Heavy Vehicle National Law do not ..read more

Join Australian Grape & Wine CEO, Tony Battaglene and Lee McLean, GM Government Relations & External Affairs,  as they discuss two highly topical issues currently facing the Australian wine sector.  Firstly, Container Deposit Schemes and the inclusion of wine bottles as part of the environmental policy around waste reduction; and secondly, off the back of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Winegrapes Market Study from 2019, the ACCC are currently scheduling to follow up on their recommendations to address market transparency, perceived power imbalances ..read more

While the Australian Government’s policy is that receiving a vaccination is free and voluntary, it aims to have as many Australians vaccinated as possible.  Join Tony Battaglene and guest, Will Snow, Partner at Finlaysons Lawyers as they discuss the various State Government's Vaccine Mandate positions on double vaccination for COVID-19 and the impacts these positions have on grape and wine businesses in Australia.  Community transmission is the bedrock foundation that risk assessment and duty of care is based on to assess and measure risk factors within the workplace.  Will expe ..read more

Join Tony Battaglene and guest Angie Schipano, Director of Bird Control Australia, as they discuss effective, humane and eco-friendly methods of controlling pests in and around the vineyard.  In the leadup to harvest, birds damage fruit by plucking entire berries from the cluster or pecking holes in the berries. Bird damage goes beyond yield loss; pecked grapes can harbour bacterial and fungal pathogens that lead to bunch rot and off-flavours in the wine. Angie provides advice on how to tackle damage to fruit by birds and other pests that not only prevent pest infestation, property damage ..read more

Join Tony Battaglene and guest Dr Martin Cole, the new CEO of Wine Australia, as they discuss Martin’s initial impressions and priorities for the Australian grape and wine sector. Martin joined Wine Australia on 15 November 2021 from the University of Adelaide, where he was the Head of School, Agriculture, Food and Wine.  Along with his wine sector experience, Martin brings extensive experience across government, academia and industry – including the broader agricultural sectors – and has held senior leadership positions at CSIRO, overseas and in larger commercial companies.  It’s a ..read more

Join CEO Tony Battaglene as he is joined by our guest Jim Caddy as they discuss Vintage 21 and what we can expect from this Vintage ..read more

Tune in to hear from Australian Grape & Wine Chief Executive, Tony Battaglene and General Manager, Government Relations & External Affairs, Lee McLean as they discuss the issues of the day, and the latest out of Canberra ..read more

This week Tony and Lee break down the short, medium and long term strategies to deal with the latest outcomes from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).  On Friday 26 March 2021, MOFCOM released its final determinations on dumping of Australian wines in China and trade distorting subsidies (countervailing duties), applying duties of up to 218.4% on most Australian wine exporters on imports of all bottled and still wines from Australia.  Domestic tourism is one of the strategies to support winegrape growers and winemakers, and we encourage all lovers of Australian wine to get out int ..read more

Join Tony Battaglene and guest Mitchell Taylor, Managing Director of Taylors Wines, as they discuss cyber security.  In the lead up to Easter 2021, Taylors Wines were the target of a cyber attack across their entire business systems.  This is a must-listen podcast for all grape and wine businesses across Australia, as Mitchell describes the attack they experienced, what they learned as a business, plus he gives us some handy tips for all businesses to protect themselves from cyber attacks.   Any business is at risk of being targeted by malicious actors in cyber space. While mos ..read more