The Auswine Forum

The weather from the heatwave last week in South Australia bore a similar resemblance to the one that caused havoc in January 2009 - this time five consecutive days between the low to mid 40s (celsius). I've been keeping my eyes and ears open to see if I could hear of any major problems, but so far most in the business have been keeping fairly tight lipped.

The fires reported around Eden Valley don't look to have been that close to the vineyard regions to cause any real damage: some outsiders have asked about the possiblity of smoke taint but the winds at the time sound like they were favourable enough for it not to be a problem - as with other bushfire years, only time will really tell.

The biggest worry is that spell of blast-furnace type heat during the day (and the remaining heat overnight where it barely dropped below 30C) over that period which was so intense. Like 2009, it's sounding like vineyards caught during verasion are being the most badly effected, resulting in a wild assortment of berries on each bunch. James Hook has posted some photos of damage in McLaren Vale & Langhorne Creek, but I'm not sure how widespread it is or if other regions have been smilarly hit - like I said, most in the business are keeping quiet.

Below are a couple of related articles, hopefully there's a lot more information coming about how well or otherwise these and other regions have fared as we get closer to vintage.

Cheers,
Ian

21 January 2014
BUSHFIRES, GUNS AND COMMUNICATIONS
Philip White
drinkster.com

http://drinkster.blogspot.com/2014/01/b ... tions.html

"As in the particularly tricky 2011 vintage - too wet; too mouldy - there will be good wines made from 2014 - too hot; too toasted - but these will invariably come from the better winemakers and growers. The sorts I generally recommend in these epistles will have the best chance.

So. That's my first go at summarising the 2014 year. Who knows what Mother Nature, who's obviously very pissed off at us, holds in store as the remnants of the year's wine grape crop struggles through to harvest. There's a long way to go."

DJ Growers Blog
Friday, January 17, 2014
Sunburn and heatstress #v14
UPDATE 17/1/2014

http://djsgrowers.blogspot.com.au/2014/ ... pdate.html

"South Australia is recovering from a heatwave similar to what was experienced in autumn 2008 and spring 2009. Peak maximum temperatures recorded at Langhorne Creek's central weather station were been 44.4oC, five days in a row were above 40oC, and night time temperatures did not cool vines down with the temperature staying above 25oC from the 13th to 16th. The McLaren Vale Wine Region had peak temperatures above 43oC. Temperatures were also over 40oC in the Adelaide Hills, Clare and the Barossa.

All of these temperatures are higher than the maximum temperature for a grapevine and they shut down most of their ripening and functions accordingly.

Each of our previous recent heatwaves had different consequences for our grapevines depending on what stage of the growing season they occurred. The November 2009 spring heatwave during flowering (EL-19 to 25) reduced berry set and yield. The March 2008 autumn heatwave interfered with ripening (EL-39) causing vines to panic ripen and affected fermentation. Our current heatwave has occurred as vineyards are going through Veraison (EL-35). Grapes become more susceptible to heat damage and sunburn as they soften..."

Yesterday arvo Michael Smyth on 891 radio had the head chap (name escapes me) from Barossa growers association followed by a girl from Adelaide Uni(?) discussing fire damage and/or smoke taint to the current vintage.
Both seemed relative unconcerned in regards to the Barossa and Eden valley grapes.

My only concern was the 2 dozen white I had shipped that week.
Graham
Well, an addendum. Having been caught with smoked tainted wine I hope this will not be a concern.

I happened to be close to the area so I dropped into Penfolds Magill Estate this afternoon to have a nosy around - the first thing that was immediately noticeable was that some significant bunch thinning had been carried out today. By the time I made my way up the driveway to the restaurant, I noticed what looked to be some signs of damage from the heatwave. At the cellar door they mentioned vintage is looking like another very early one, estimated to be in about two and a half weeks time.

There may have been some damage in The Grampians too. The SE Australian vintage is looking to be variable. Great Southern in WA may produce some bigger, riper wines than usual but that is pure speculation on my part. I suspect Margaret River wines will also have been affected by heat. I'm not an inveterate follower of detailed weather conditions in wine-producing regions but across the country it has been a very hot, very dry summer so far, no doubt impacting some of them.

Great thread. And thanks for the photos.

It looks like it is going to be an excellent year for raisins and sultanas

Timmspe...ha ha I like it.
At least we don't live in Bordeaux...vintage of the century every year is it not?

Thanks for the photos Ian.

Cheers
Craig.

n4sir wrote:By the time I made my way up the driveway to the restaurant, I noticed what looked to be some signs of damage from the heatwave.

Thanks for the pictures! Some of those bunches look like a good argument for a sorting table...

On a positive note, all hunter winemakers have been reporting great fruit coming in so far - no-one is putting the mockers on by making any claims to quality yet, but all ingredients are there for one to beat the recent classics of 05, 06, 09 and 11.

Certainly was a shocker here in Adelaide. Our poor Alder trees in the backyard spat the dummy dropping a load of leaves in protest. Hope there's not more of these although it's cranking up to 40 sometime during this week. At least there's no humidity. During the recent heatwave the humidity went down to 5% at one stage.

Carl

I heard second hand from a grower that the next two weeks will be make or break for them up at Watervale. This week's Adelaide metro forecast is: 38, 40, 33, 38, 40, 41, 40...

If those temperatures go up or continue to go on, it can't be good news.

daz wrote:There may have been some damage in The Grampians too.

Speaking of Victoria, I saw this over at Bert's place:

cuttlefish 2014/1/24 wrote:I heard that Dalwhinnie had a very close call. Right up to their fence, apparently.

Just saw the Adelaide 7 day forecast. Lowest temperature 37C. Mostly in the 40's Certainly a challenge for the wineries with little chance of picking reds before the heat ala 2008. I imagine they will not be ripe yet. Could be the first bad even year sine 2000 in SA (wet).

Carl

Chuck wrote:Just saw the Adelaide 7 day forecast. Lowest temperature 37C. Mostly in the 40's Certainly a challenge for the wineries with little chance of picking reds before the heat ala 2008. I imagine they will not be ripe yet. Could be the first bad even year sine 2000 in SA (wet).

The weather isn't looking good, no, so it'll be tough to avoid getting over-ripe and/or cooked grapes.

I think 2011 was another candidate for a bad year in SA: I remember that as being very cold and wet, with lots of rot. Some producers managed to make excellent wines, but many didn't.

A tweet from Philip White about an hour ago:

@whiteswine wrote:"A week touring Barossa and today's drive around McLaren Vale tells me many vines have not enjoyed the heatwave. Yields will be way way down."

This over at Bert's place:

Rory wrote:The above photos look very similar to what is, or rather has, happened across the Mornington Peninsula,
Varying reports of up to total loss to 80% down to 20% loss depending on sub region and flower set.
Problems with "chicken & hens" fruit bunches as well.

A friend who grows along the Limestone Coast has told me that none of his grapes are looking good this year (and they normally go A-grade). Blames it on poor fruit set from heavy spring winds as well as the heatwaves

Ian, appreciate the info you get on these matters.
With the spate of continuing hot weather here in SA (was going to have a 97 Dalwhinnie Shiraz and a 98 Sally's Paddock tomorrow...but will stick to riesling and beer I think) do you have any updates on Vintage 2014.
Suspect that the Barossa might be picked right now and Coonawarra next week.

What happened to the good old days?
I remember doing summer/autumn jobs in vineyards in the 80s and we were still flat out getting fruit off in LATE April!


Cheers
Craig.

from Mark at Blue Poles in M.R.........(sound familiar ?)

Crazy good…



Vintage of the Century. Vintage of the Decade. Or the one I like best, Vintage of the Year!! [ Well I’m laughing even if no one else is ].



I’m afraid to say but the weather has been extremely kind to Margaret River this year with no extreme hot temperatures as seen in the eastern states, no tropical weather coming down from the north generating any humidity, early sea breezes at Blue Poles ensuring no large heat load, and just glorious blue blue sky. What can I say? By all accounts it looks like we will have another vintage of very good wines from the region and this is a blessing for all the growers and wineries who have put so much effort in over the year.

Stavros wrote:from Mark at Blue Poles in M.R.........(sound familiar ?)

Crazy good…



Vintage of the Century. Vintage of the Decade. Or the one I like best, Vintage of the Year!! [ Well I’m laughing even if no one else is ].



I’m afraid to say but the weather has been extremely kind to Margaret River this year with no extreme hot temperatures as seen in the eastern states, no tropical weather coming down from the north generating any humidity, early sea breezes at Blue Poles ensuring no large heat load, and just glorious blue blue sky. What can I say? By all accounts it looks like we will have another vintage of very good wines from the region and this is a blessing for all the growers and wineries who have put so much effort in over the year.

So keep an eye out for 2014 Margaret River Cab Savs?! Yesssssssss please.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/201 ... e=adelaide

More bad news for Adelaide wine growers it seems following the extreme heat.

What a crazy year it has been so far in Adelaide... from scorching heatwaves to the wettest 24 hours in 45 years.

I've been busy back at work, but before the rain I got some bits and pieces from a few sources. Adelaide Hills reds are just going through verasion now and the whites seemed to cope with the heat, although yields are way down. Some parts of the Barossa got hammered by frost later last year, resulting in lower yields. That seems to be a common theme in many SA areas - poor fruit set resulting in low yields. As one Winemaker told me, the dry grown/low tonnage = high quality argument doesn't really play out as well in an extremely hot year like this.

Penfolds Magill Estate had its first pick February 10th, which was a day earlier than last year. The earliest on record was February 3rd 2009 which was also their lowest yield on record - it still seems way too early for my liking, the better South Australian red vintages in the past have all been picked March-April, and some into May. At d'Arenberg, the riesling grapes started arriving at the winery on January 31st – equal to their earliest ever start.

Then the rain... a look at the BOM site shows 75mm in a day at suburban Adelaide, 110mm at Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills, 94mm at Nuriootpa, 67-80mm in the Riverland, about 40mm in McLaren Vale, generally much lighter falls further south. Clare seemed to have missed the majority of the initial wet front, but got a massive 75mm dumping later on. Coonawarra and Robe look to have had little to no rain over this period.


Rainfall for 24 hours to 9am Friday - abc.net

James Hook posted a video clip on twitter of berry splitting & botrytis appearing on Sangiovese the day after the rain, which has been included in this article:
http://djsgrowers.blogspot.com.au/2011/ ... onnay.html

There was a story on the local news last night about the possible threat in the Clare Valley:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/21 ... rt-famers/

The next few days will be crucial: growers who have committed to picking in the next month have their hands tied, they can't spray and have to hope the weather gods give them a break - fresh breezes like we have had locally today will greatly help in this regard. Those who spray now to prevent any possible disease will be committed to wait. As Philip White mentioned in an earlier article, good viticulture is crucial to get a decent result in a testing year like this one - good luck doesn't hurt either. Fingers are crossed.

Cheers,
Ian

Some better news over the last few days.

I caught up with someone from the Barossa yesterday and they said the old Barossa vines have coped with the heat remarkably well - almost all the heavy rain was soaked up by the dry ground, it freshened the vines and slowed things up with no berry splitting. Another mentioned this has pushed picking back by two weeks - the weather since the rain has been mild with good breezes, a case of so far, so good.

Another Winemaker mentioned to me McLaren Vale and the southern Adelaide Hills didn't get anywhere near the amount of rain as the Barossa and Clare - about two inches of steady rain over 24 hours. Half that would have been ideal as the vines needed to slow down & freshen up, but what they got wasn't a problem.

That said, it's still a cautious wait: James Hook posted a photo on his blog of weird looking secondary moulds appearing in fruit re-hydrated after the rain, not a pretty sight.

Cheers,
Ian

18 February 2014
ALL GOOD NEWS AT TORZI-FREELAND
Philip White
drinkster.com

http://drinkster.blogspot.com/2014/02/a ... eland.html

""You’d think nothing could survive out there on some of those days."

Tim Freeland is one winemaker who doesn't mind acknowledging vintage realities.

He's a partner of Dominic Torzi, whose winery DRINKSTER chose as last year's best value Australian producer.

For those who weren't here, it really did feel like nothing could survive. We had two heatwaves. On January 16th Adelaide was confirmed as the hottest city in the world. We had five days in a row above 42°C. From January 13th to the 17th daily temperatures were 12°C or more above normal. It hit 45.1°C on the 14th.

And then it rained. Absolutely pissed down. We suddenly had the wettest 24-hour period since 1969 and the fifth-wettest Adelaide day on record, when 75.2mm fell.

Parts of the Ranges took 130mm and more. Utterly parched berries sucked that up til they split, then that raw exposed sugar caught the moulds and funguses and growers watched their incomes turn to mush.

Like the wettest vintage on record, 2011, the better operators managed to squeeze through this sickening roller coaster."

18 February 2014
Heavy rain fails to damage grape growers' spirits
By Lauren Waldhuter
ABC Rural

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-18/n ... es/5266810

"South Australian grape growers have had mixed responses to heavy rainfall in the state's prime wine regions.

Up to 100 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours in the Clare and Barossa Valleys at the weekend.

Wine makers in the northern Barossa say the wet weather has helped boost yields damaged by consecutive heatwaves.

Troy Kalleske from Kalleske Wines says the 100 millimetres of rain they received came at the perfect time.

"The crop was looking slightly under average, but now the rain has brought it back to about average," he said.

"It's been a very good thing to freshen up the vines just a few days away from vintage, so a very big positive for us."

But Neil Pike, from Pikes Wine in the Clare Valley, says the wet weather has caused grape split in his region.

Wineries in the central part of the valley received the most rainfall, up to 90 millimetres in some cases.

But Mr Pike says the situation isn't disastrous.

"Some varieties are more susceptible to the splitting than others," he said.

"We've seen a little bit in shiraz in some of our blocks this morning, certainly a little bit in some sauvignon blanc.

"We're pretty hopeful, given a bit of warm weather for a few days. Warm, dry weather is the key. With a bit of wind, it'll be okay.""

Ian thank you so much for your information.
In hot Brisbane (a world away from real wine country) really appreciate nitty gritty stuff that you bring.

Thank you

ross

I posed the recent heat/rain situation to a number of the wineries setup at the cellar door festival. None of them seemed too concerned about the recent weather. It was a case of "we've had better, we've had worse, but that's grape growing" type deal. But far from disastrous thats for sure. One chap at an unnamed producer even went as far to say that the bad weather was a media beat up! Well I don't know about that, but the overall vibe/reaction seemed very shrugged shoulders to me. For some 'bigger' producers it could be misconstrued as a bit of PR spin in saying there's nothing to worry about, but the semi unconcerned reaction was consistent across the board.

I popped into Dowie Doole on the weekend and on the way in I noticed their vines looked seriously torched. I made a comment to the cellar door attendant and he seemed unperturbed. He told me the recent weather wasn't exactly ideal and they still had a reasonable amount of good fruit.

25 February 2014
2014: RIDICULOUS, BUT FAR FROM OVER
Philip White
drinkster.com

http://drinkster.blogspot.com/2014/02/2 ... -over.html

As well as the article by Philip there's an interesting reply:

Keith Mugford Moss Wood wrote:Challenging conditions but the good vineyards and winemakers will shine through. I understand people being “punch drunk” after what’s happened.

Vintage is proceeding apace here. Crops are down but not unexpectedly after the wind damage during Spring. Temperatures through the season have been good to us and the last 2 weeks have seen a succession of days with maxima in the 28 to 32 range, so there has been steady ripening, across the board. We’re so close to the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest we’re starting to keep an eye on the long range weather forecast – if it stays dry for the another 3 weeks that would suit us fine. Our fingers are crossed.

Hope things are settling down in SA after the rain last week? I haven’t heard any bad stories, so hopefully that’s a good sign.