‘The worst three months’: Winery owner’s devastation as visitors abandon famous region

Exclusive: The rolling hills of NSW’s Hunter Valley attract millions of visitors and thirsty wine aficionados every year.

But crushed vineyard owners say tourist numbers have dried up in the region and profits are scarce as Australia’s wine industry suffers a historic downturn.

Read more

Zane’s bank account was drained by a pothole. A small detail meant he got nothing in compensation

Nath Heuston and Leonie Di Lorenzo opened Hunter Wine Lab in Pokolbin as the early COVID-19 restrictions eased in 2020.

Their family winery and cellar door, located on the Hermitage Road wine and food trail, easily competed with the big names in the historic Pokolbin area for years.

Now, the couple say the sharp decline in wine consumption and Australia’s oversupply crisis has trickled down to their vineyard.

“We’ve had the worst at least three-and-a-half months that I’ve ever seen in the industry,” Heuston told nine.com.au.

“We are talking about one tenth of our weekly income for about 10 weeks.”

The profit margin on a bottle of wine is becoming razor thin.

The owners – who also brew beer on premises – are battling wage increases, soaring supply costs, electricity and other overheads.

And that doesn’t include the cost of actually producing a drop.

Even if they raised prices, the couple agree it wouldn’t solve the issue.

“The problem in the wine industry at the moment is that people aren’t buying wine to start with,” Di Lorenzo explained.

Read more

Helen and Rob downsized to an apartment. Then a $15 million bill arrived

“And the cost of everything that is put into making a bottle of wine goes up every year, but we can’t put the price of our bottle of wine up enough to keep up with that, because people simply won’t buy it.

“Even if we don’t sell a bottle of wine, that attracts a 30 per cent tax.”

Heuston said the average visitor to Hunter Wine Lab is paying a $10 tasting fee, but rarely walks out with any bottles.

Every bottle cracked open for a tasting is lost profit.

“Just to provide the experience of doing a wine tasting, we have to charge for it, or we go broke,” Heuston added.

This profit pain is being felt all over Australia.

The local wine industry is grinding to a halt after a charmed few decades.

Australian wine exports declined by eight per cent in value to $2.34 billion in 2025, a downward trend driven by fading interest from the Chinese market.

Read more

Australia’s wine industry faces $180m blow

Local wine grape crush dropped to 1.27 million tonnes this year, the smallest national harvest in over 25 years.

It is the fourth vintage in a row that is below the long-term average, according to Wine Australia.

The Hunter Valley is NSW’s second-largest wine grape producing region.

Production in the region is “well below” historical highs, according to Wine Australia.

“The 2026 crush totalled 4,138 tonnes, approximately 46 per cent lower than the peak of 7645 tonnes recorded in 2008,” a spokesperson said.

“While seasonal and regional factors have also influenced production levels, the decline reflects the broader impact of weaker domestic and international demand on the Australian wine sector.”

This generational sales slump has hit business owners all over the area, Heuston said.

“Some of the local hotels and resorts that we know people at have been down to average of around 30 per cent occupancy,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Hunter Valley Wine & Tourism Association said it acknowledges that many growers are experiencing “genuine pressure”.

“The association recognises that wine businesses are operating in a very challenging environment, shaped by declining wine consumption, cost-of-living pressures and rising operating costs,” the spokesperson said.

“Continued communication between businesses, industry bodies and government is important in ensuring the needs of the region are understood and appropriately represented.”

The association said its data from the past years did not indicate a decline in visitors to the Hunter Valley, but said it is aware “that visitation does not always translate directly into wine sales”.

“Changing consumer preferences and spending habits are creating challenges for producers and the experience of individual businesses will naturally vary,” the spokesperson added.

Businesses in the region have been encouraged to engage with the association to access grants, promotional opportunities and “new routes to market”.

Nine.com.au has also contacted Destination NSW for comment.

‘Any profit is going to go to tax’

Heuston and Di Lorenzo believe the blame largely lies at the feet of the government.

The couple say small business owners are being pulled in every direction by the tax office, leaving them with little to no profits.

Heuston described the current tax structure as “diabolical”.

“Any profit is going to go to tax,” Heuston said.

“We pay an exorbitant amount of return back to the government.”

Repeated interest rate hikes and the general cost-of-living crisis are forcing Australians to stay home and drink less, too.

“Our biggest market is on our doorstep, which is Sydney, and that’s also the biggest mortgage belt in Australia.”

The couple believes the wine industry is in the middle of a “great correction” from a rush of new vine plants several decades ago.

The federal government invested heavily in the country’s winemakers in the mid-1990s after pioneers embarked on “strategy 2025”, which envisioned the wine industry would achieve $4.5 billion in annual sales by 2025.

A submission to Inquiry to the Australian Grape and Wine Industry described this as “attractive but misguided”, leading to gross oversupply.

Winemakers like Heuston and Di Lorenzo said the problem could worsen if the government does not step in.

“That major correction could last 10 years,” Heuston added.

“There’s a whole host of issues that really need to be reviewed.”