Author: Gabriela Mantilla, BPsych (Hons) | Torrens Resilience Initiative, Flinders University
South Australia: a great wine capital of the world
South Australia’s grape & wine tourism sector consists of 18 regions and is internationally recognised for producing some of the best wine in the world. This sector underpins entire regions, communities, and economies, critically supporting tourism, associated employment, services, social cohesion, and resilience. SA’s grape & wine tourism sector contributes $2.12 billion directly to the state’s economy, accounts for 50% of Australia’s annual production (which includes 80% of all premium wine) and supports a large proportion of the $5.5 billion national wine tourism spend.
From bushfires to pandemics and floods, exploring DRR capacity in the grape/wine sector
Whilst the industry has been no stranger to dealing with natural hazards, disasters in recent years have highlighted a lack of preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies in grape and wine businesses. The sector was impacted by several emergencies, ranging from the 2019-2020 bushfires to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 floods. During 2023 the Torrens Resilience Initiative (TRI) completed the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) project entitled “Building Partnerships for DRR in the Grape Wine Sector”. The DRR Grants support initiatives that build strategic capacity, inject innovation or transform practices to proactively reduce disaster risk and limit the impacts of disasters associated with natural hazards on communities and economies. This project initially involved three sector meetings over 18 months, with participation from government emergency management agencies, experts and businesses in the sector, providing exploratory forums to identify future opportunities, and developing two customised tools: key considerations guidance for preparedness and disaster resilience, and a preparedness checklist, for wine, grape and tourism businesses. The development of the exploratory forums created opportunities to form and strengthen the relationship between the Emergency Management (EM) and the grape and wine sectors; with participation from a range of wine grape growers, wine businesses, the South Australian Country Fire Service (SACFS), the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (SAMFS), the South Australian State Emergency Service (SASES), the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS), South Australia Police (SAPOL), South Australian government agency experts (Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia – PIRSA, and South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission – SAFECOM), local councils, and a range of small-to-medium-sized business owners in McLaren Vale and other South Australian grape/wine regions.
Bridging the gap between DRR existing resources and preparedness in the sector
The findings and discussion of the forums highlighted a gap between the availability of DRR and EM resources, and the ability and initiative of businesses in the grape and wine sector to implement these strategies. As a result of these findings, the project was extended for the remaining 6 months of 2024 with new funding. During this period TRI partnered with Resilient Ready, a social enterprise that supports resilience building for Australian businesses, to develop and deliver a micro-training program to support resilience and preparedness in the industry. The “Future Ready Grape and Wine Business Pilot in South Australia” program consisted of 10 micro-training sessions, aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises in the grape and wine sector. The program was underpinned by an all-hazards approach, designed as a coordinated set of modules based on the findings of the forums and the development of the key considerations guidance. Each module addressed a distinct resilience and preparedness element and consisted of a 5-minute micro-learning activity with easy-to-understand worksheets and resources, a lived-experience video case study, and a live ‘check-in’ session featuring industry experts. The case studies featured individuals working in a variety of roles including winemakers, viticulturists, vignerons, managers, suppliers, vineyard managers and contractors. The program was distributed to over 100 contacts across the sector, and promoted by several government agencies and regional wine associations, including PIRSA, the Wine Grape Council of SA (WGCSA), the South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA), Onkaparinga Council, the Loxton Community Development Committee, Barossa Australia (formerly the Barossa Grape & Wine Association), Riverland Wine, Langhorne Creek Grape & Wine, and the McLaren Vale Grape Wine Tourism Association (MVGWTA).
Project outcomes: futureproofing and building resilience in the wider ecosystem
The different facets of the project provided both immediate and long-term support for the grape and wine sector. Through the completion of the three regional forums partnerships for DRR were built both in-sector through businesses, and cross-sector with communities, governmental and local organisations, and EM agencies. This led to the creation of evidence-informed guidance and a checklist tool customised to the needs of the sector, and the delivery of a program that bridges the gap between the available DRR and EM preparedness resources and the ability of businesses in the Grape and Wine sector to implement DRR strategies.