The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference

Introduction

The first Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference was held 7-9 July 1970 in Mildura, Victoria, and was organised by The Australian Wine Research Institute. Following the success of this conference, it was then held every three years. The ‘Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference’ (AWITC) was incorporated as an association on 31 August 1987, and has two members: The Australian Wine Research Institute and the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology.

The purpose of the AWITC is two-fold:

to promote and coordinate the dissemination and exchange of technical information for the benefit of the Australian grapegrowing and winemaking industries; and
to plan, organise and conduct at regular intervals, conferences, trade exhibitions and other events for persons associated with the grapegrowing and winemaking industries.

Background

The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference is held on a triennial basis for the benefit of the Australian wine industry and is a very important contributor to develop further the excellence of the industry. This excellence stems not only from the communication and adoption of new innovations, which can be attributed to specific research projects, but also from the mindset that the mere existence of research, conferences and attendance at such conferences generates.

The opportunity for industry personnel to devote three full days in the company of more than 1,700 national and international peers, in a ‘technical and social setting’ without competing demands on their time, is an excellent environment to exchange experiences and ‘tricks’ that generate the small increments in efficiency and quality which, in turn, foster larger advantages in market penetration.

Should there ever be doubt that conference activities are fruitful, then it can be useful to compare present day practices with those prevalent some thirty years ago. In order to maintain and increase Australia's position in the future, opportunities available must be explored through increased investment in research and development. Attendance at this conference is an important opportunity to increase this effort and through formal and informal contributions help to set the direction for future efforts.

Business Plan

In 2009 the AWITC Inc. Executive Committee formulated a Business Plan. The Executive Summary is available here

Format of the Conference

formal programme comprising eight, two-hour sessions, covering the wine business from the vine to the consumer, including technical advances in winemaking and grapegrowing;
colloquia;
workshops;
large trade exhibition; and
an extensive poster display.

Conference Planning Committee Members

The Directors of the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference Inc., and the members of the Conference Planning Committee are:

Professor Sakkie Pretorius  The Australian Wine Research Institute
Mr Nigel Blieschke  Peter Lehmann Wines
Ms Eliza Brown  Peter R. Brown Family Vineyard
Ms Sue Caloghiris  Bibber International
Mr Jeremy Dineen  Josef Chromy Wines
Mr Peter Godden  The Australian Wine Research Institute
Dr Markus Herderich  The Australian Wine Research Institute
Dr Dan Johnson  Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference
Mr Russell Johnstone  Orlando Wines
Dr Mark Krstic  GWRDC
Dr Vince O'Brien  The Australian Wine Research Institute
Ms Debra Robinson  Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology
Ms Louisa Rose  The Yalumba Wine Company
Mr Con Simos  The Australian Wine Research Institute
Dr Paul Smith  The Australian Wine Research Institute

Conference Manager

Kate Beames

Conference Secretariat

Sue Milnes

See our contact page for further details.

Past Conferences

We have an archive of information on programmes, speakers and more for each of the Conferences held since 1970.