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Estimated 4% of Australia’s grape crop damaged by fire and smoke

Wine Australia has estimated that losses incurred as a result of fire damage and smoke taint will equate to 4% of the national wine grape crop.

Australia’s 2019/20 bushfire season has gone down in history as one of its worst. Fires, which started in June 2019, have since burned an area of around 18.6 million hectares and claimed the lives of 34 people.

Fires were burning in all six states, however, damage was concentrated in areas within South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

Using national vineyard scan data and information from firefighting agencies, Wine Australia revealed in January 2020 that around 1% of Australia’s total vineyard area, less than 1,500ha, had been damaged in the fires.

Losses were concentrated in certain areas: it is believed that a third of the 3,300ha of vines in Adelaide Hills were affected, while damage was also reported in parts of New South Wales, specifically in the Tumbarumba region.

As the weeks went by, a number of wineries announced they were dramatically reducing, or indeed not making wine in 2020 due to smoke taint. Two of the country’s leading wine science organisations, National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) and Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, announced that they were working with growers to help test grape samples. 

Wine Australia has now released a further estimate, factoring in the impact of smoke taint. It predicts that losses will equate to 60,000 tonnes (4% of national grape crop).

It is important to stress that it is still too early to assess the full impact of the smoke. Wine Australia has said that the 4% figure incorporates both the smoke and fire losses, in other words, the 1% fire damage figure is included as part of the 4%.

Commenting on the state of play in Australia, Anita Poddar, corporate affairs manager of Wine Australia, said: “At the moment the Hunter Valley and Canberra are among the regions most significantly impacted by smoke as they were closer to vintage and the impact of smoke is greater as grapes ripen. While Canberra, the town, is in the Australian Capital Territory, the greater part of Canberra geographical indication region falls into New South Wales.

“There are other regions at risk including obviously parts of the Adelaide Hills, Tumbarumba in New South Wales and the north-eastern Alpine regions in Victoria, but as they are still some weeks away from vintage (ironically despite the dry conditions that led to the fires we are having an exceptionally cool summer and now autumn so vintage is a little later than usual) we are not sure whether they will be affected and to what degree they will be affected, however the 4% figure allows for losses in those regions.”

The industry body has also released two fire maps, showing the fire damage in South Eastern Australia, and a close up on Adelaide Hills, as of 17 February. No significant fires have started up since this date.

Read more:

STUDY CLAIMS AGRICULTURAL SPRAY REDUCES LEVELS OF SMOKE TAINT

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE AUSTRALIAN WINE INDUSTRY AFTER THE FIRES

THIRD OF ADELAIDE HILLS VINEYARDS LOST IN WILDFIRES

AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES TEAM UP WITH GROWERS TO ASSESS SMOKE TAINT

CLONAKILLA WILL NOT PRODUCE 2020 VINTAGE

TYRRELL’S TO CUT 80% OF 2020 CROP

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