ANDREW Dal Broi admits he is "pretty bullish" over his plans for a winery south-west of the city.
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"Mainly because we're getting a lot of opportunity globally,” he said.
“The major supermarkets are still running the race in the domestic market.
"We can’t compete in that field and we won’t even try to compete against suppliers that are providing a cheap bottle product for the majors.”
Mr Dal Broi, the son of Griffith mayor John Dal Broi, was speaking after his company purchased The Wine Group, a 1970s facility located on Walla Avenue.
“We’re in this for the long haul,” he said.
“And I think the Australian wine industry is in a rebound phase globally.
“The dollar is at the right level and coming down more.”
Mr Dal Broi, who heads up Southern Estate Wines, a new subsidiary of the Dal Broi Group, said it was becoming “increasingly difficult” to operate without the Walla Avenue winery.
He could not disclose the price paid for the 20 million litre site due to commercial-in-confidence. All staff were retained.
Mr Dal Broi sees it as “critical” to produce wines from the Riverina that are tailored to European and US markets.
“They will be clean, fruit-driven south eastern Australian wines where we will compete against the Chileans and Argentinians at that style,” he said.
“There is a lot of wine out there but what it comes down to an efficiently run business that doesn't have high overheads thus increasing the cost of goods."
Mr Dal Broi said the “reality” of the market was that prices were down to about 50 to 60 cents per litre.
“But if you have a right price against good costs then you can always compete,” he said.
Production will commence on Sunday, but the wheels are already in motion for expansion.
“It’s good for the industry, it’s good for the region,” Mr Dal Broi said.
“We’re probably in a very special postion right now to be able to fill the winery up, help as many growers as we can, obviously, and then empty the winery again for next year.
“We’ve got a busy few months ahead.”