Wine Australia protects reputation of Australian wine

Wine Australia has cancelled the export licence held by Jindalee Road Wines Pty Ltd, an entity operating out of the New South Wales Murray Darling.

Wine Australia’s Label Integrity Program investigation found that Jindalee Road Wines had failed to meet its record-keeping obligations established by the Wine Australia Act 2013.

Wine cannot be exported from Australia without an export licence issued by Wine Australia. 

There are no concerns about health or safety for consumers of the wine. However, wine label claims in relation to vintage, variety and region strongly influence people’s purchasing decisions.

The licence cancellation reflects Wine Australia’s commitment to ensuring that consumers worldwide can be confident that label claims reflect what is in the bottle. 

Jindalee Road Wines may make an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of the decision to cancel its export licence in accordance with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975. 

Wine Australia is not able to comment further as this matter is subject to an ongoing investigation.

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About Wine Australia’s regulatory role

• Wine Australia protects the reputation of Australian wine by regulating the export of wine, conducting audits of wine producers and ensuring the truthfulness, and reputation for truthfulness, of claims made on Australian wine labels in both the domestic and export markets. 
• Wine Australia has the power to suspend or cancel licences when necessary.
• There is a strong culture of compliance in the Australian grape and wine sector. Wine Australia has only suspended or cancelled eight licences in the past ten years, including Jindalee Road Wines. There are more than 2000 active licence holders.
• More information on the Label Integrity Program can be found at www.wineaustralia.com/labelling. 
• Suspected breaches of Australian wine regulation can be reported openly or anonymously via Wine Australia’s Wine Watch portal www.wineaustralia.com/wine-watch.