Wine Tasmania has said it is receiving lots of positive reports of very high quality for this year’s vintage, which is now officially underway.
There had been some concerns after bush fires on the island, but it looks as though the huge majority of Tasmania’s vines have experience no smoke impacts.
Sheralee Davies, CEO of Wine Tasmania, said: “Grapes for Tasmania’s sparkling wine are the first to be harvested and we’re receiving lots of positive reports of very high quality from wine producers. Overall yields are expected to be generally in line with the past three vintages, which would be an unprecedented four consecutive years of strong yields for Tasmania.
“It’s been a varied 2018/19 season around the island so far, demonstrating that no two seasons are the same in the cool climate of Tasmania. Fortunately Tasmanian growers are used to being agile and managing the every-varied seasonal conditions in order to get the best possible quality of wine each year. One of the reasons so many people love our wines is because they clearly reflect these seasonal differences.
“Bush fires experienced in the south west have created some worry for grape growers, but we’re very fortunate that an anticipated 95 per cent of Tasmania’s vineyard area has thankfully experienced no direct smoke impacts based on advanced scientific analyses undertaken to date. We’re also fortunate that the national science around smoke impacts is so advanced and allows for very specific scientific analysis of each individual vineyard site to inform business decisions.”
One of the first to harvest grapes was Josef Chromy Wines in Relbia, and General Manager and Chief Winemaker Jeremy Dineen said: “We’ve had a warmer than average summer and beautiful weather at flowering which has supported solid yields. A warm and mostly dry January, with a couple of good rain events, has set us up for a fantastic and early start to the sparkling wine harvest. This is possibly some of the best sparkling fruit I’ve seen since 2013.”
Davies added: “So far 2019 has demonstrated that growing grapes and making wine in Tasmania is full of variety and it’s a credit to all involved in the hardworking Tasmanian wine community, who do what they do because they know Tasmania can produce some of the best wine in the world.”