5. Do the larger Australian companies need to become international players? The wine industry comprises two basic activities –
growing grapes and wine making. There are enterprises which specialize in growing grapes and do not make wine and enterprises which make wine but purchase all or most of their grapes. Most of the large enterprises do both. The relationship between grape growers and wine makers is a close one, and where the same enterprise is not doing both, a long-term contractual relationship often exists. The principal interest here is in the wine making.
The industry is highly dependent for growing highquality grapes on the right climatic and soil conditions.
They certainly limit the location, although different kinds of wine can be grown in different areas. These natural assets are location-specific. Micro-conditions vary enormously, even within the best areas. These affect the quality of wine produced. The intensive use of such land has raised the price for the land which is best for grape growing, for which there is great competition.