The wine industry in Australia is under severe pressure.
There is an excess supply of fruit; young people are turning away from wine and the anti-alcohol lobby gets louder and louder.
It certainly doesn't help when young industry leaders make complete fools of themselves - and attract national negative attention.
The Coonawarra Vignerons have apologised after posting social media images of members wearing T-shirts reading "drink more, die younger".
The guilty folk were members of the the "Next Crop" leadership program and included some high-profile names.
The Next Crop courses included "cultural awareness, authentic leadership, strategic thinking, wellbeing for leaders, environmental, social and governance responsibilities, persuasive storytelling and collaborative impact". But not common sense.
The social media post, later deleted, attracted negative comments questioning the slogan's appropriateness, before the photo was edited to obscure the "die younger" part of the shirts.
A very bad look.
After being sent questions from the ABC, Coonawarra Vignerons said it "sincerely apologised" for the post.
"Their attire, featuring irresponsible messaging around alcohol, was not endorsed by Coonawarra and does not reflect the values or professionalism of our members or the association, nor the responsible approach to alcohol consumption that our industry proudly upholds," the statement to the ABC said.
"We take this matter seriously and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the photograph and the lapse in judgement by those involved.
"Coonawarra Vignerons remains committed to fostering wellbeing, cultural awareness and social responsibility across our community and industry."
The T-shirt slogan attracted criticism from Substance Misuse Limestone Coast, while Finlaysons law firm partner Will Taylor - who is also a former winemaker and travels around the country working with the industry on social responsibilities – said the wine industry needed to take the issue seriously.
Image: Facebook
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