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In Part 1 of my conversation with wine industry commentator, producer, and recovering wine critic Robert Joseph, we explored a deceptively simple question: where do wineries actually make their money?

But that conversation quickly led to a much bigger one.

What happens when the traditional wine business model comes under pressure?

In this second part, we move beyond profitability and into the forces reshaping the global wine industry. We discuss ageing vineyard owners, succession challenges, private equity, direct-to-consumer sales, wine tourism, changing consumer behaviour, and why adaptation may be the defining challenge for wineries over the next decade.

We also tackle the role of wine critics and traditional wine media, and Robert offers some characteristically frank views on Australia's place in the global wine market and whether we've lost clarity about what Australian wine stands for internationally. Buckle up for this section team. 

Whether you're a wine producer, retailer, marketer, or simply fascinated by the business of wine, there's plenty here to challenge conventional thinking.

And if you'd like to explore these ideas further, I highly recommend following Robert's work through Wine Thinker and his Substack, where he continues to ask some of the most important, and often uncomfortable, questions facing the wine industry today.

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Robert Joseph.

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