By Amy Looker
The bushfires that burned through Western Australia's Margaret River wine region late last week are now under control, though it is too early to tell the extent of damage to affected vineyards.
Margaret River Wine Association chief executive, Nick Power, told TheShout that he was still waiting for more detailed information to come through as there had been difficulty reaching the affected vineyards.
“At the moment, we know that all of the fires are contained, which was assisted by a cool weather front that came in over the weekend,” Power said.
“There are about three or four vineyards that have been directly affected, with some being badly singed but we have no further information available at the moment.”
Power said that despite the damage to the vineyards he expects the 2012 vintage to escape unscathed from the recent fires due to the early growth stages of the vines.
Victorian producers were not so lucky in 2009 when the Black Saturday bushfires destroyed entire vineyards extremely close to vintage.