David Cox has been appointed as New Zealand Winegrowers new European director.

Mr Cox has been involved with the industry for more than 25 years, and was previously the managing director of Brown-Forman Europe, where over the last 13 years he helped establish and expand its wine division.

He left Brown-Forman on ‘amicable’ terms in June 2008, during a board restructure of the company’s wine and spirits operations.

Once the domain of Dalmatian immigrants and lifestyle blockers looking for a posh hobby, in just 20 years the wine industry has established itself as an integral part of the New Zealand economy.

A new report released by NZIER and NZ Winegrowers says that the wine industry is now worth $1.5 billion to New Zealand’s gross domestic produce (GDP).

New Zealand Winegrowers commissioned the survey to assess the state of the industry, which has grown faster than any other industry in memory and rapidly become an iconic part of the New Zealand landscape.

It is looking as if this year’s wine harvest will fall short of last year’s record season, despite an additional 3000ha of grapes entering production for the first time.

New Zealand Winegrowers’ annual pre-vintage survey covers 91% of the 2008 harvest, and it’s projecting a tonnage of around 275,000, down 4% from last year’s record 285,000 tonnes.

That year was a 39% jump on the year prior, and has raised very real concerns of a  wine glut, as consumers' expendable income dries up in the recession.