The Yarra Valley is not the only cool Victorian region to have suffered potentially damaging frosts in recent weeks. Dry conditions tend to increase the risk of frost damage to viticulture and the present near-drought conditions have hardly helped. Typically, those vineyards on the valley floor have been most adversely affected, while the higher, steeper sites have managed to escape. Varieties most affected to this point have been the early ones like chardonnay, which at time of incidence was around two weeks past budburst, with shoots between 2-10 cm long. Affected vineyards will need to re-shoot for a decent crop in 1998. Another main concern facing the Yarra is water supply. Although early spring rains were plentiful and raised soil moisture levels to field capacity, most dams in the area are now only 50% full and we are more or less at the end of the wet season. The forecasted long, hot summer may create problems, since vineyards may quickly dry out. Most growers will be hoping for supplementary rainfall to freshen things up, while those with limited water reserve will be looking at flowering as a time to arrest moisture stress. After that time, those with new vineyards may be getting pretty desperate without rain.
