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TRANSCRIPT
In a small Victorian town, Tom and Charmaine Handyside are picking through the burned remains of their wine vintage, bulldozed into giant mounds of charred bottles and broken glass.
“We lost roughly 70,000 bottles and that was made up of sparkling wines, chardonnay, pinot noir, sangiovese and shiraz. It's about six years’ worth of work, effort, dedication, that's all been wiped out in an afternoon.”
The Handysides lost their entire wine vintage when bushfires destroyed a cool store in the Victorian town of Harcourt, earlier this year. They were among 90 small businesses to lose everything when the facility burned.
“It never occurred to us that the cool store would be a genuine fire threat. It's this big monolithic concrete kind of building. we were truly shocked when it burned down. It's not just a bottle of wine. It is a piece of us that's sitting destroyed in a mound and that's the part that sticks in my throat, to be honest, and why I keep cracking up into tears when I talk about it.”
Their losses total $1.8 million and follow a long struggle to build a new brand, Still Moon Wines, from scratch.
“We're a mum and dad business. It's taken a huge toll on us. We spent years working double jobs and sacrificing a lot of things for this. “
Like many who stored apples, beer and wine in the facility, the Handysides had no insurance.
“We obviously made a bit of a mistake that we haven't had adequate insurance. The real challenge of that is the insurance is not cheap either. So, it is really tough.”
However, underinsurance is an all-too-common problem, according to insurance comparison platform, BizCover. General Manager Brad Miller explains.
“Small businesses are being hit harder than ever by disruptions coming from natural disasters. And the biggest risk to small businesses is under insurance or having no insurance at all. Severe weather events are here to stay and really small businesses should take practical steps to shield themselves from the impact. And that's everything from risk reduction things like investing in surge protection, fire safety measures, even backup power options.”
Natural disasters like bush fires are among many threats plaguing Australia’s wine industry, according to Australian Grape and Wine CEO, Lee McLean.
“Australian producers are facing the most challenging set of commercial conditions they've ever faced. Fundamentally, we've got too many vines that are in the ground. We've got too much wine in storage and not enough people around the world drinking wine at the moment.”
With an oversupply of 350 million bottles, and many winemakers losing money, Australian Grape and Wine is seeking urgent relief from the federal government.
Mr McLean explains.
“What we are looking for from the government is a $60 million package to help us transition our supply base into a more viable future. That could include things like concessional loans with deferred repayments to help people to finance their ongoing viability. It could also include things like grants to help people remove their vines off their properties and diversify into other crops or to exit the industry altogether.”
Fire has devastated many living in the little town of Harcourt.
Cool store worker and Harcourt local Gary Grant explains.
“Oh, what can I say? Yeah, nothing I can say. It is a terrible loss for everybody. Everybody that used the facilities, it is a terrible loss.”
Mr Grant was among locals who fought to save property. Despite their brave efforts more than 50 homes were lost. Mr Grant says the Harcourt Co-operative cool stores stood little chance.
"All of a sudden there was a wind shift and we knew Harcourt was in trouble. the roof of the shed had all collapsed and there was nothing really that anyone could do. It was just so intense.”
Despite facing an uphill battle, the Handysides are among those determined to carry on.'“
“The wine industry was already tough. There's no doubt about it. Everyone's suffering. We're not unique. We made the decision despite the risk to go ahead and do a vintage this year, a smaller vintage. I hope when people drink a bottle of Still Moon, they see the genuine love and care that has been poured into that bottle.”
