Hot summer in Canberra threatens vintage quality

Canberra’s unusually hot summer could pose as a threat to the region’s crop after what has been the hottest January in recent years, some local winemakers have warned.

Mount Majura Vinyard viticulturist Leo Quirk inspecting grapes (Photo credit: Elesa Kurtz, The Canberra News)

“The problem with the heat is that the vines just shut down anything over 27-28 degrees [centigrade] and the vines just stop working so you’re not going to get your grapes ripening,” John Leyshon of the Canberra District Wine Association told The Canberra Times.

The city hit an average maximum temperature of 32.8 degrees in January, exceeding the maximum average temperature recorded in 2013 at 32.3 degrees.

The hot weather has caused some vines to bear fewer grapes, local winemaker Frand van de Loo of Mount Majura Vineyard, noted, comparing this season to the 2014 harvest that saw low production from those white grapes used for sparkling wines.

Meanwhile, David Faulks of Tallagandra Hill Wines noted the increased need for irrigation was also an issue.

“This has been an unusual hot streak, coming on the back of the wet in the middle of last year,” he said.

“We are having to irrigate a lot at the moment, even though we’ve had a bit of rain [this week] the key is putting enough water on the vines but not too much.”