By Ian Neubauer
Pernod Ricard Australia, distributors of Wyndham Estate, today issued a statement to cancel an event to mark the harvesting of a small Shiraz vineyard planted in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens.
“As you know, grape growing is a difficult business at the best of times and this year has been among the most difficult in the past several decades,” the statement said.
“Thus, we are disappointed to inform you that our little Shiraz vineyard in the Gardens has contracted a common fungus, Downey Mildew, which has affected the grapes to such a degree that we will not be harvesting any crop this vintage. As a result we have made the difficult decision to cancel our inaugural harvest event, but hopefully we can re-adjourn in January 2009.”
Downey Mildew is a generic term used for several types of water mold known to infect plants and a common problem for growers of grapes and vine-type vegetables.
The statement added this year’s harvest at Wyndham Estate would be down on projections. “Vintage at Wyndham Estate in the Hunter Valley has just commenced and while tonnages will again be slightly lower than we might like, the quality of this year’s harvest appears excellent,” the statement said.