(FoodProcessing) - A partnership between the New Zealand wine industry and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is aiming to make the country the world’s leading producer of high-quality, reduced-calorie and lower-alcohol ‘lifestyle’ wines.

The NZ$16.97 million Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) is the largest R&D project ever undertaken by New Zealand’s wine industry and is designed to position New Zealand as number one in the world for premium lifestyle wines.

“We’re excited by this program in providing the opportunity for further innovation in the wine industry, and the potential to strengthen New Zealand’s reputation as a supplier of some of the world’s finest wines,” said Justine Gilliland, MPI’s Primary Growth Partnership Director.

“This is the first viticulture program in the PGP, representing an exciting stage in the overall PGP program. It’s a great example of how the PGP is enabling innovation in industries across the primary sector.”

“This program will capitalise on the domestic and international market demand for high-quality, lower-calorie and lower-alcohol ‘lifestyle’ wines by developing new, natural techniques for grapevine growth and wine production utilised across the New Zealand Wine Industry,” said Philip Gregan, New Zealand Winegrowers CEO.

“Our point of difference will be producing premium wines that can be naturally produced using sustainable viticultural techniques and native yeasts - providing an important point of difference to existing processing methods.

“The program will produce tangible outcomes for the grape and wine industry and the economy as a whole.”

The MPI has committed NZ$8.13 million over seven years to the project, with the balance coming from industry partners as a mixture of cash and in-kind contributions.