THIS year could be the last for Charles Sturt University (CSU) Orange’s cellar door, with the university’s executive director of finance confirming on Wednesday CSU’s commercial wine operation is losing money.
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Paul Dowler, who is based at Orange CSU, said while the campus’ cellar door had a year’s worth of wine in stock, the university could cease commercial wine production when a report into operations was likely to be handed down at the end of February.
In fact, the production of grapes at Wagga Wagga and Orange vineyards for next year’s vintage had already been paused in light of the review.
“The commercial operations were not meeting their objectives. Yes, it is losing money, but there are other things to consider like brand exposure and bringing people onto campus,” Mr Dowler said.
“It’s not as simple as [the winery losing money], as it doesn’t take in all the other factors.”
He said while commercial operations had been on a “watch and see status” for a long period, the review was prompted by the departure of Wagga Wagga-based wine maker Andrew Drunn from the university in August,
Mr Dowler added the proposed changes to higher education and the highly-competitive Australian wine market would have an impact on the report’s outcome.
The Orange campus’ vineyard dates back to 1994, with 15 hectares and seven varieties of vines; chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot gris, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
The cellar door was opened in July 2012, but Mr Dowler was certain the closure of CSU’s commercial winery would not have a negative impact on the region’s wine market.
“Certainly we have very very good wineries in Orange. CSU has been a part of that, a proud part of that, an important part of that,” he said.
“We have many cellar doors in the Orange region and a robustness in the market that will ensure it will be okay.”
Mr Dowler said, should commercial operations cease, there was a possibility the Orange vineyard could be leased out to other wineries in the future.
“We know full well that if we removed the vines, that’s a pretty permanent decision,” he said.
The report will not have any effect on the experimental winery or the National Wine and Grape Industry at Wagga Wagga’s campus, as they are considered research and teaching facilities, not commercial operations.
alexandra.king@fairfaxmedia.com.au
