AUSTRALIAN GROWERS LEFT TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES

The Wine Federation of Australia is employing tactics similar to the Europeans by urging grape growers to rip out vines. After the federal government declined to give winemakers any aid, growers without contracts to sell were advised to throw out excess grapes.

Although the Australian government often comes to the aid of grape growers, Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran said that the "key responsibility for charting the way forward rests with the industry itself.”