Is this the end of wine as we know it?
Is this the End of Wine as we know it?
Dissecting the worldwide wine polycrisis
The headlines are grim: everywhere you look, wine is in “crisis”. We've seen it before, but is this something more profound - not just a hiccup, but an epochal change? When the WHO says no level of alcohol is safe for our health; when sustainability and climate change issues are destabilising traditional plantings and practices; when tariffs and trade are becoming increasingly unpredictable; when socialising is normalised online instead of around a bottle of wine; and when younger generations are just not that interested in their parents’ favourite drink, it’s not just a wine crisis, it’s a polycrisis.
Join us for an evening of industry insights that go beyond the headlines with an incredible lineup of local and international experts, including the world’s most respected wine economists Kym Anderson AC and Karl Storchmann, pillars of the Australian wine sector Wendy Cameron MW and Brian Croser AO, Chair of Wine Victoria Dan Sims, and French winemaker and economist Capucine Dentraygues. Hosted by Jacqueline Dutton, Founding Director of the Pinot Noir Project at the University of Melbourne, Julian Alston, Director of the Center for Wine Economics at the Robert Mondavi Institute at UC Davis, and Max Allen, Australia’s most esteemed wine writer.
Continue the convivial conversation over canapés and a two-course dinner at University House with a selection of local wines that tell the story of where wine is heading in the future. Hosted by Max Allen and curated by our award-winning University House sommelier Christian Maier.
This event is supported by the School of Languages & Linguistics, the French Trust Fund, University House, Wine Victoria, and the Consulate General of France in Melbourne.
Lineup
Max Allen
Max Allen is an award-winning journalist and author of over a dozen books, He is a lecturer and PhD candidate in wine studies at the University of Melbourne, as well as the wine and drinks columnist for the Australian Financial Review, longtime contributor to Gourmet Traveller Magazine, Australian correspondent for JancisRobinson.com and a regular presenter at masterclasses and festivals around the world.
Julian Alston
Julian Alston is Director of the Center for Wine Economics at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science and a distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Davis. He works on a wide range of topics related to the economics of grapes and wine and related public policy.
Kym Anderson AC
Kym Anderson is Professor Emeritus of Economics and Executive Director of the Wine Economics Research Centre at the Adelaide University. He has worked with numerous national and international organisations, including the World Bank, the WTO and Wine Australia. His research focuses on international trade, economic development and growth, and the economics of agriculture, food and wine, published in more than 40 books and 400 academic articles and chapters. He is a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).
Wendy Cameron MW
Wendy Cameron is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne where she also completed a PhD on the effects of temperature on viticulture and winemaking. Having worked with Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyards (now Brown Family Wine Group) for many years and prior to that in her own small family-owned wine business, she is an experienced winemaker and wine business manager. Wendy is a Master of Wine (MW) and a Fellow of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology and continues to pursue her research interests in viticulture and winemaking.
Brian Croser AO
Brian Croser has been an innovator in the Australian wine industry for more than 40 years, pioneering new wine regions in the Adelaide Hills, co-establishing the Charles Sturt Wine Science degree, advocating for terroir-driven wines in Australia, and creating globally successful wine brands. He has been the President of the Winemakers Federation of Australia, a founding board member of Wine Australia, and Deputy Chancellor of the University of Adelaide. He is an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
Capucine Dentraygues
Capucine Dentraygues is a PhD student in the Department of Wine and Beverage Business at Hochschule Geisenheim University. An oenologist by training with a dual winemaking and economics profile, she is part of a European research initiative exploring how natural microbial interactions in winemaking-associated ecosystems can drive wine innovation, reduce chemical inputs, and support both climate resilience and long-term economic sustainability.
Jacqueline Dutton
Jacqueline (Jackie) Dutton is Professor of French Studies at the University of Melbourne where her research and teaching focus on wine and food as transcultural products of regional, national and international geopolitics. She is Founding Director of The Pinot Noir Project, a hub for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange about this unique grape variety, and has curated major international festivals and events in Australia, France, and Myanmar.
Dan Sims
Dan Sims is Chair of Wine Victoria and founder/CEO of Melbourne-based events company Revel. He has been selling, judging, writing about, and promoting wine for over two decades. As Head of Revel, he delivered wine and food events in fourteen cities and six countries around the world, with flagship event Pinot Palooza and co-founded MOULD A Cheese Festival, the largest celebration of Australian cheese in the country. An outspoken advocate for the democratisation of wine, he continually strives to make the world of wine engaging, accessible, inclusive, and experience led.
Karl Storchmann
Karl Storchmann is Clinical Professor of Economics at New York University, Editor of the Journal of Wine Economics, Executive Director and Vice President, American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE). He is an applied microeconomist whose research focuses on environmental and industrial organisation issues related to agriculture and is the world's leading economist on the impact of climate change on the wine market. His most recent work examines the effects of tariffs on the wine industry.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
Get tickets
This event has passedGet tickets
This event has passed
