Were Barossa growers confident in the vintage results?
The vintage has been fantastic. We’ve had great yields and good quality. Because of the yields the fruit just needed time to hang, but the weather has held out well for us.
In saying that, there’s a lot of challenges that got thrown at growers this year, with hailstorms and multiple storm events coming into vintage across different areas of the Barossa.
But I only know of little fruit hanging on the vines, and generally that fruit would have been unsellable due to disease.
What varieties have been popular this year?
Prices held reasonably well, and there was definitely demand for some whites.
Riesling quality for the Barossa has been fantastic, and there’s definitely a demand there. We’re seeing an upward trend on whites, and that includes chardonnay as well.
It’s the same also for the boutique varietals as well… the smaller winemakers are really sourcing that fruit, because it’s a point of difference for their wine.
The shiraz quality this year was absolutely outstanding, and patience with the cabernet yielded better quality as well.
Was there much lasting impact from last year’s hailstorms on the vintage?
Unfortunately, it hit isolated pockets of growers. The hailstorm went up through the central Barossa, and some growers who got hammered by it would have lost 70 per cent of their crop.
Patience was a good virtue this year with vintage starting later. The fruit that has come off later in the vintage has been to a much higher standard.
What factors are most important for vines entering dormancy?
People saw disease creep into their vineyard, because a lot of people stopped spraying in January. Because of the lengthy period the fruit has been on the vine, some disease has come in.
A post-harvest clean-up would be quite good, and then you can start looking at the remedial work as well.
Being later in the season, the vine has had to work hard, which means there’s a shorter period of time to store carbohydrates for the next season. So, a bit of post-harvest irrigation and nutrients would also be beneficial. Start getting out there and spreading the compost.