Our third industry expert from our winter 2023 edition of SA Farmer. Wine Grape Council of SA Region Two chair, Adrian Hoffmann, speaks about the 2023 vintage, grower optimism and fruit quality.

NOTE: This interview was conducted while the 2023 vintage was still ongoing in the Barossa region.

Is it looking like vintage will run late this year? 
In the Barossa I think we’ll be going well into May at this stage. Eden Valley is just picking around the edges of reds and, while I know a few people are starting to finish up in southern and central parts of the Barossa, there’s still quite a bit of fruit to be picked in those areas. 
People aren’t panicking, but everyone’s watching the weather pretty closely to see whether they should pick or let it hang. 
We’re probably around a third of the way through, so we’ve got a fair bit of fruit to go. 

Did wet conditions in spring and summer result in the later vintage? 
We’re sort of battling now with leaf conditions. We had a very mild frost recently and we’re into April now, so with the cooler weather a lot of leaves are going into autumn conditions. The vines are functioning as well as they should. 
However, the flavours have developed quite early. Winemakers are waiting for a bit of sugar, and we’re getting that through concentration with really good natural acidity. 
Some of the parcels of fruit I’ve seen are exceptional, but then you’ve also got the blocks that will struggle to ripen a bit. 

Have grape prices improved from estimates we saw earlier in the year? 
I think there’s going to be a bit of fruit left hanging in the Barossa. I was expecting average to slightly below-average crops, and have gotten slightly above average. Wineries have taken a bit more fruit to counter that and help out growers a bit. 

Will vineyard management change with an El Nino year expected in 2023? 
A lot of people left a lot of grasses to grow because of the wet spring. We’ve got good subsoil moisture there this year, so it all depends how the weather holds out. We’re looking at a later break to cold conditions, so hopefully we can get through most of vintage before the weather really comes in. 
I don’t think a lot of management will change, but I think people will take the opportunity to re-work some of those blocks, or remove blocks that aren’t paying for themselves, and look at a change in varietal or resting the ground. 

Is there any optimism returning surrounding exports to China? 
I’m not hanging out too much hope of China opening up sooner, but we’re closer to when it will open up again. 
Even if they do open up, it won’t be the grapes that benefit first. It will be the bulk wine market. 
Hopefully once the bulk wine starts moving and the tanks start emptying that creates a bit of optimism among the purchasing as well. 
Any onus we can get for selling wine, not just to China but anywhere, is going to be helpful for the grower.