Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
The Tasmanian Government continues to support the State's wine and beverage sector which will be the focus of Pinot Palooza, the world's longest running pinot festival.
After a two-year break due to COVID-19, Pinot Palooza is returning for its 10th anniversary and will specifically feature Tasmanian wine, cider, spirits and cheese from more than 20 Tasmanian producers.
This is the first time a region-specific precinct has been featured at Pinot Palooza and it will be presented by Trade Tasmania in partnership with Wine Tasmania.
The Tasmanian Government congratulates Wine Tasmania on this initiative for a dedicated Tasmanian experience centrepiece.
The Pinot Palooza 2022 roadshow takes in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Auckland between May 6 and October 15 and represents a unique opportunity to showcase the best of Tasmanian wine, beverages and produce to a huge audience. The Melbourne event alone is expected to attract 4000 patrons.
Tasmanian wines scooped up dozens of national awards last year and all of the pinot noir gold medal winners at the 2021 Sydney Royal Wine Show were Tasmanian.
The 2022 wine vintage is currently underway with picking across the State and the sector has excellent growth prospects and the ability to increase employment and economic benefits to the State.
The State's wine grape vintage was up 18 per cent by volume for 2021 and the wine sector contributes about $200 million to Tasmania's economy and employs more than 2,000 FTEs. The quality of Tasmanian wine grapes is also reflected in the record value of $3,146 per tonne, compared with the national average of $701 per tonne.
The wine sector continues to be an important and growing contributor to trade and tourism and the overall Tasmanian brand. ABS figures for 2019-20 show the export figure for Tasmanian wine was $4.2 million, with the UK, US, Netherlands, Japan and China being the strongest markets.
The Tasmanian Government continues to support growth and trade in the Tasmanian wine sector through its market development activities and the Strategic Industry Partnerships Program.
Additionally, we are investing $100,000 to assist with improving resilience in the wine sector and fund emergency smoke testing, which is part of the $10.2 million new Ag-Protection Package to future-proof Tasmanian agriculture and manage risks to primary industries.
Increasing the awareness of Tasmanian wine and produce at events like Pinot Palooza will also help us to reach our target to sustainably grow the farm gate value of the State's agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.
