The average Australian winery generates 44 per cent of its DTC revenue, through their cellar door, writes WINEDEPOT founder Dean Taylor.

Rather sadly, many were forced to close their cellar doors this week to help contain the spread of coronavirus. This comes at a time when they are already reeling from the impact of bushfires, smoke taint and a low yielding vintage and over the last few weeks have watched their export and on-premise markets collapse.

Never before have Australian wine producers faced a challenge like this. For many producers, the only option they have left available is to try and maximise sales via their website, mailing list and wine clubs.

Having spent more than 20 years in the Australian wine industry, founding 8 wine technology businesses and having the great privilege of being able to save some smaller wine businesses from going under, I hope that through my latest venture, WINEDEPOT, we can help keep more businesses active.

But it will take more than just my support or any single person to get through this challenging period. In response WINEDEPOT have established an Instagram account @supportaussiewineries, to encourage people to shop local and support one of the hardest hit industries at this time. We’ll be featuring all the small wineries who have been impacted by fires and coronavirus closures and sharing how to buy direct from them.

WINEDEPOT have also announced a CELLAR DOOR SUPPORT PACKAGE offering wineries a range of free and discounted services to help them continue trading online through this period.

Our platform allows them to offer their customers a free, same-day or next-day delivery service backed by our partners Australia Post, who as an essential service will continue operating throughout the crisis.

Our heart goes out to all the businesses experiencing hardship through this crisis. We hope we can help people to take this opportunity to pivot and grow their businesses online, and plan to continue educating our customers on ways they can reach their market at this time.

For more information visit www.winedepot.com

Want more? Get the latest coronavirus news and updates straight to your inbox! Follow Kochie’s Business Builders on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.