Consumers turn off full-strength beer, heavy red wine, so farmers follow suit
Consumers' wine tastes have seen wine grape growers change their vines. (Supplied: Upper Reach Winery)
In short:
Changing trends at bars, restaurants, and pubs are leading to changes in paddocks for farmers and winemakers.
Consumers are drinking less and opting for lighter-style alcoholic drinks.
What's next?
Farmers and winemakers are adjusting to meet global trends.
It is a long way from Western Australia's grain paddocks and vineyards to its pubs, clubs, and bottle shops, but shifting trends in alcohol consumption are changing the crops farmers grow.
Viticulturists such as Laura Pearse from Upper Reach Winery in the Swan Valley are adapting their crops and winemaking methods to suit the changing palates and demands of consumers.
Ms Pearse said there was a clear trend towards lighter reds and, subsequently, Upper Reach had taken out Petit Verdot vines, typically used to make Bordeaux, and replaced them with Grenache, a lighter red grape.
"That's a pretty long-term experiment; we put some in last year and planted more this year," she said.
"We will get a small crop in three years' time, but we won't get a decent crop for five or six years."
Upper Reach Winery has removed some vines to allow for future production of lighter red wines. (Supplied: Upper Reach Winery)
Ms Pearse said changing consumer demands could be observed by simply looking at what was available by the glass at restaurants and wine bars.
The semillon crush in WA dropped 12 per cent from 7,004 tonnes in 2023 to 6,107 tonnes in 2024 as people switched back to chardonnay, which has seen an increase in its crush.
Shiraz grapes in WA observed a 20 per cent drop in total crush, lowering from 6,842 tonnes in 2023 to 5,460 in 2024, while the grenache varietal rose 25 per cent from 224 tonnes crushed in 2023 to 280 tonnes in 2024.
Healthier diets changing wine choice
Yuri Berns is a winemaker with Sittella Wines in the Swan Valley and said the societal shift towards healthier diets and lifestyles had impacted wine consumption.
"The younger drinkers were looking for something with minimal sulphites or sulphur used in the winemaking process," he said.
In 2020 it led Mr Berns to an old style of winemaking from the champagne region, which involves minimal intervention and preservatives.
The method is named Petillant Naturel, or "Pet Nat" colloquially.
"I think that's a massive mainstay especially in terms of health benefits and people being more conscious of what they're eating and drinking,"he said.
Beer consumption peaked in Australia in the 1970s when a pint was less than $1. (ABC News: Chris Gillette)
Beer trends also changing
Changes in drinking behaviours and drink types are also being felt in Australia's grains industry, where demand for barley used to make beer has fallen.
Rabobank grain and oilseeds analyst Vitor Pistoia said global barley stocks were at their lowest levels in 30 to 40 years, but a shortage of the key beer ingredient was not reflected in current prices.
"Globally, people are demanding less malting barley,"he said.
"We have shifting drinking patterns, especially the young folk under 40 years old. They're drinking less beer and whiskey, they're drinking more seltzer, pre-mix and so on, so the overall demand for malt is not that strong."
Barley is Australia's second-largest grain crop; about 9 million tonnes is grown annually with about 3 million tonnes of this achieving malt quality.
Australia is the world's largest exporter of malting barley, and farmers usually receive a premium for their grain if it reaches malt grade.
So far this year, feed and malt-grade barley prices are sitting around the same level.
Barley is a key ingredient used to manufacture beer, but is also an important source of animal feed. (ABC Mid West & Wheatbelt: Jo Prendergast)
Within Australia, John Preston from the Brewers Association of Australia said beer consumption had "significantly dropped" since its peak in the 1970s and people were increasingly favouring mid or low-strength-alcohol beer.
"Beer sales have dropped, and we have seen a slight uptick in wine and spirit sales, so people are drinking less alcohol over recent decades, and they've shifted from beer to other categories," Mr Preston said.
"It's been a challenge for the [beer] industry, but people still consume beer in Australia. It's still very popular."
Mr Preston said mid-strength was the most popular beer consumed in Australia, the growth of the craft beer industry showed some consumers were willing to pay more for the beer they drink, and major brewers were adjusting their operations to provide more choice in beer types.
Australia is the world's biggest exporter of malt barley, which is used to make beer. (ABC Rural: Rose Grant)
Nathan Cattle is the managing director of the grain trading platform Clear Grain Exchange.
He said the barley market was being dominated by strong demand for livestock feed grain, both from within Australia and internationally, and this was a positive for farmers.
"Malt demand can be very finite; there's only a certain amount of malt that can be consumed by the infrastructure that's built to process it, and it can be really specific on variety," Mr Cattle said.
"On the longer-term trend of the world potentially drinking less beer, for Australian farmers the positive side of that is that the feed market continues to grow."