Typical boom and bust Kiwi mentality. Borrow to the hilt, and make a fortune? What's happened was inevitable, it's time to get back to less corporatisation of wine making. Those growing good grapes and not borrowing to do so will be fine. Too big, too fast, recipe for disaster. The prices of land were getting absurd and I hope the banks who lent on the promise of continued boom get their financial fingers well burnt. It will serve them right. But I am sorry from the communities who might suffer in the wake of this bust.
Can someone explain how the recession caused the winde industry to collapse? There was huge media upsurge of the wine industry a couple of years ago,paying minimal wages and overseas demands and so on. Why what happened?
Yes, vineyards/wine industry is in a bit of strife - but how extended would it be without the fringe unexperienced financiers such as SCFwho lined up the starry-eyed Branson types to intrude on what has been a pragmatic grow to order (or at least with-in conventional banking resources)low margin industry?