09 Oct 08 about the project
The Margaret River wine region is a key player in the multi million dollar Australian Wine Industry and although the region contributes only 3 per cent of the country’s wine grapes, it commands over 20 per cent of today’s premium wine market.
Located in the south west of Western Australia, the Margaret River region stretches some 100km from north to south and about 27km wide in parts.
Margaret River is world renowned for its pristine environment and quality in viticulture and wine making.
The WineSMART project will assist local producers by providing them with access to 1.) innovation adoption, through the use of podcasting as a means to deliver information, and 2.) best practice examples in areas that directly affect the way that vineyards and wineries operate.
There are nearly 5,000 hectares under vine and over 180 wine producers in the region. The Margaret River wine region is made up predominately of boutique size wine producers, although winery operations range from the smallest crushing 3.5 tonne per year to the largest around 7000 tonne.
As the majority of Margaret River wine producers are SMEs, most have limited time available to keep up with industry trends and explore areas of best practise in the industry. Although industry workshops assist in disseminating information and knowledge, producers still find it difficult to make time to attend these workshops and seminars, and industry briefings. Consequently they then often work in isolation to what is happening in the industry at a macro level.
It is intended to use new media and technology to drive innovation adoption, and improve information flow between producers using podcasting. Podcasting is a means of publishing audio and video information via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed of new files (usually MP3s) that are delivered automatically to a home or business computer, or iPod.
The wine industry in Australia is currently facing challenges in communicating with customers and selling more wine. Consequently there is a specific need for dissemination of information through areas within the industry as diverse as agricultural processes, wine production, and marketing and communications to customers.
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