Fire and the 2009 Vintage in Victoria, Australia
Heat, Wildfires and Smoke Damage Vineyards and Wines.
Feb 27, 2009
One of the great attractions of wine is the way that each vintage is different. Seasonal conditions are reflected in the qualities of the grape and thus in the characteristics of the wine produced during that particular year. See this article about what makes a good vintage year.
But the variation comes at a cost, some years turn out to be quite disastrous because of seasonal conditions. This has been the case in South Eastern Australia, particularly in Victoria during the 2009 vintage.
Until mid January all seemed to be going well. Reasonable rainfall in November and December of 2008 had helped the vines flourish after a few years of barely adequate rain. There was even talk of there being a glut of grapes and wine again.
However all of this has changed in a few short weeks and we have a series of problems, related to two severe heat waves and serious fires in wine growing areas.
The Effects of Heat
Grapes need a certain amount of heat to ripen. Too much can be detrimental for wine quality and quantity.
For three days over 28-30 January 2009 Victoria was scorched with temperatures in the mid to high forties. On 7 February a second heatwave lasted for a single day but the temperatures and wind speeds were even higher. Virtually all vineyards in the state suffered some damage during these events. The heat caused damage to the vines and to the ripening grapes.
The severity of the heat damage varied considerably. Some grape crops were completely destroyed, the berries just turned to raisins on the vine. In other cases damage to the vines' metabolism so upsets the ripening process that quality of any wine produced is of poor quality.
Many factors influence just how well or badly vines cope with the heat. These include the variety of the grapes, the available soil moisture, the trellising system the topography of the vineyard, the orientation of the rows of vines and the presence of windbreaks.
Wild Fires
Severe wildfires (called bushfires in Australia) occurred on Saturday 7 February. Over two hundred people lost their lives fighting the fires or fleeing from them. The high temperatures and dry winds caused the fires to race through grassland and forests which have been desicated by several years of drought.
Many of these fires were in wine producing areas, most notably in the Yarra Valley, but several other regions were damaged to some extent. Vineyards, wineries, buildings and equipment have all been lost. The owners of Roundstone in the Yarra Valley lost their restaurant, winery, wine stocks, the vineyard and their house.
Smoke Taint
Winemakers are still assessing the full extent of the smoke damage to the grapes. The problem can occur many miles from a fire, and it occurs when smoke is present in vineyards for several days. Smoke particles adhere to the grapes in the vineyard and impart an off odour and flavour to the wine. It is more of a problem with red wines where the fermenting juice is in prolonged contact with the grape skins. Major problems occurred in 2004 and in 2007 with many vineyards opting not to make wine.
The Response
The Victorian wine industry is relatively close knit community. Many appeals and benefits have been organised to help those in need. Donations of wine and related goods and services from the more fortunate industry participants being used directly or raffles or sold to help victims.
The resilient grape growers and wine makers will retrieve what they can of 2009 and plan and hope for a better vintage in 2010.
You can read reports from some Australian winemakers in Vintage 2009 in Australia
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