What an uncertain world we live in today. Yet I’ll bet that in most cases your daily life is a lot more certain than that of your local wine producer. Facing the 2020 vintage square in the eye, many wine growers in our hot, dry country could be excused for harbouring a feeling of discomfort, bordering on dread.
There’s hardly a wine region in Australia in which grapevines are receiving their usual allocation of water – be it from rainfall or via a dripper. The hot, windy conditions last springtime resulted in poor flowering for many, which immediately reduces yield and income. Those grapes still hanging on, despite the water stress of many sites and the extreme heat being experienced inland, then have other issues to face: namely fire and smoke.
Aside from the obvious long-term impact of having fires either take out or singe the edges of a vineyard – which typically require the affected vines being replanted – the presence of smoke hanging around a vineyard can wreck a vintage for a wine producer.
Smoke taint molecules – even from fires lit far away – can be taken up by the vine and ultimately relocated into the grapes, ultimately causing a wine to taste rather like the bottom of a used ashtray. It’s too early to be definitive at time of writing, but I’m concerned at the potential for trouble with the 2020 crop from regions like the Hunter Valley, the Yarra Valley, Canberra and the Adelaide Hills amongst others.
Then, once a wine is safely in bottle, its maker has to sell it. For most wine producers, this is the hardest task of all. Consider now that Australian consumers are currently being conservative, the US and the UK are as challenging as they have ever been for wine exports, the wine market in China is going through a tightening phase and the rest of Asia is still a story more of emerging potential than current reality, and you will understand why your favourite wine producer probably needs your support now, as much as ever before.
Please buy wine from your favourite local wine producers. They’re integral to many rural economies and drive regional awareness and tourism. They need you right now.
I wish you and Australia’s wine community a happy and successful 2020.
