‘Virtual winemakers’ to lose rorts as rebate tightened in budget

A $1 billion subsidy for the wine industry will be slashed in Tuesday’s budget, in a move aimed at end-ing rorting by “virtual winemakers” and boosting returns for farmers. The changes are expected to benefit genuine winemakers, including small producers, but will curb the prevalence of wine that is often cheaper to buy than bottled water, known as “two-buck chuck” and sold aggressively by major liquor retailers.