The Auswine Forum

This current (record) heat wave is causing a bit of havoc for the remainder of the vintage in SA.

This is a quote from a Mclaren Vale winemaker this morning: 'the wineries are all panicking as the fruit has set so quick and they are all so unprepared ... to harvesters or wineries were really booked ... so everything is jammed up busy ... the berries are turning to jam on the vines as we speak.'

I know other people in the adelaide hills who cannot get their fruit off due to shortage of pickers and harvesters; berries are turning to raisons quickly.

Will be interesting to see the outcome and how winemakers tempers handle this heat!

mattECN wrote:I know other people in the adelaide hills who cannot get their fruit off due to shortage of pickers and harvesters; berries are turning to raisons quickly.
Will be interesting to see the outcome and how winemakers tempers handle this heat!

A perfect Robert Parker vintage, then...
cheers,
Graeme

I've been helping out a little with some friends at night in the Barossa and we've been crushing for just on two weeks. Most of the reds have been around 16 be so not bad.

I get a little suprised to hear that people aren't ready for the vintage. While the recent heat wave is unexpected to the extent it's been it's not like we've had late vintages in recent years.

Those that are perpared will do well this year and those who aren't, as in any walk of life, won't do so well.

Though I was speaking with a wine critic today who is doing the rounds to various wine regions and he said he came across a Cabernet vineyard in McLaren Vale which had consistent 21 Be fruit. So I see your point MattECN.

The fruit we've crushed is all really intense, compact and has good structure from what I've seen. The ferment samples tasted are really special. 2008 will be a modest but spectacular quality vintage.