Australia's smallest grape vintage for 25 years

Australia’s 2026 wine grape crush fell to 1.27 million tonnes - its smallest since 2000 - but the reduced national crop did not result in stronger grape prices, Wine Australia’s National Vintage Report 2026 reveals.

Released today. the report says the national crush is estimated to be 1.27 million tonnes, down 300,000 tonnes (19%) from the 2025 crush and 25% below its 10-year average of 1.69 million tonnes. 

This equates to around 33 million fewer 9-litre cases of wine - not necessarily disturbing at a time when demand is reduced. 

Wine Australia manager for market insights, Peter Bailey, said that this year’s crush reflected both seasonal pressures and a broader response to changed consumer demand.

“A number of significant seasonal challenges, including flooding in the inland regions, had an impact on production, but the main driver of this lower crush is a deliberate adjustment in response to changing market conditions,” Bailey said.

“There have now been four vintages in a row below the long-term average, suggesting an underlying reset in the tonnage of grapes required by winemakers to meet changing global demand.”

Overall, the 2026 crush was 306,334 tonnes smaller than 2025, with red varieties accounting for 80% of the decrease. 

The crush of white grapes declined by a more modest 62,774 tonnes (9%) resulting in a big jump in white’s share of the total crush - up six percentage points to 53%. 

This is only the second time in the past 12 years that whites have accounted for the majority of the crush.

Mr Bailey said this shift was likely a reflection of changing global consumer preferences toward white wine.

Bailey noted that the drop in average values across the board had occurred despite the very low crush size, which is expected to take pressure off wine stocks.

“There has been no improvement in grape prices, which suggests that demand is still very soft,” he said. “It’s concerning that there is no sign of recovery for reds despite such a significant adjustment, and that prices for whites are also now declining.”

The National Vintage Report is available on Wine Australia’s website. 

Coincidentally, Wine Tasmania today released its 2026 vintage report with Tasmanian producers celebrating "exceptional quality, intense flavours and vibrant freshness" despite facing one of the lowest-yielding and most challenging growing seasons on record.

Following a record-breaking 23,002 tonnes in 2025, the 2026 vintage will be remembered for its scarcity at just 11,163 tonnes, roughly equating to around 10 million bottles.

A historically cold, dry and brutally windy spring severely impacted flowering and fruit set across the island, dramatically reducing bunch weights and overall yields, with some growers reporting yields of 50% below last year.

Sheralee Davies, CEO of Wine Tasmania, praised the resilience and skill of the island’s grape growers and winemakers who navigated the season’s demanding conditions.

“If 2025 was a year of abundance, 2026 is a vintage of absolute concentration and character - for both our grapes and growers,” Davies said. “Nature threw everything it had at the island this season - from late spring frosts and unrelenting winds to a cool, drawn-out summer which delayed harvest by up to 3-4 four weeks in some areas.”

Reflecting the focus on quality not quantity, Tasmania’s 2026 wine grape harvest represented just 0.9% of the country’s total by volume, but 5.0% of the national value.