Vintage brings mixed results for SA

Grapegrowers finished harvest at the end of April, after most growing regions ran about four weeks behind schedule when compared with past seasons.

But a late end to the season was not the only challenge, with Eldredge Vineyards' Skye Eldredge forced to drop grapes from vines for the first time, after end-markets dried up.

"We left about 20 tonnes of cabernet and merlot varieties on the vines," she said.

"There has been a market shift toward white wines and reds have fallen off a bit."

But despite reduced demand for red wine in recent years, this year, international trade tensions had mostly caused fruit to be left unharvested.

"There is no where to process or store wine at the moment," Ms Eldredge said.

"Challenges with China, Russia and COVID, have become the perfect storm.

"It has created too much stock in the bulk wine market and there is not enough space left for storage, processing or on-selling."

Ms Eldredge also believed a steel and glass bottle shortage had caused greater challenges for winemakers this year.

Disease and a cool summer had also affected Riverland growers, with Riverland Wine grower engagement officer Charles Matheson saying there was about a four-week delay to harvest.

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With disease impacts and reduced demand, vintage was back by 30-40 per cent, according to Matheson.

"A number of wineries have cut back on how much they want to buy," he said.

"Roughly 700 hectares were mothballed because Accolade Wines wanted 11t/ha."

But despite growers deliberately causing reduced production through mothballing vines, Mr Matheson said most growers had also dropped grapes on the ground.

"Growers trimmed about 700ha of vines very hard and minimised inputs to reduce output of the crop.

"Red grapes are substantially down, no one wants them."

Impacts from downy and powdery mildew have also caused damage to about 20pc of crops.

"Disease knocked yield around this year," Mr Matheson said.

Langhorne Creek Grape and Wine executive officer Lian Jaensch said the tough season had spread across the state.

"Yields are considered to be a bit below average, possibly average but it varies," Ms Jaensch said.

Vintage began late across the region, in about mid February.

"We generally begin at the end of January and at the end of April, cabernet grapes had not been picked," Ms Jaensch said.

"The challenge will be to get the cabernet to the right flavours consumers are looking for."

Ms Jaensch described this season as a "flat" vintage.

"So much of the fruit is just not wanted. The supply and demand ratio is very out of balance in the industry at the moment," she said.

She said it had affected many key red grape growing regions.

"In the shiraz and cabernet component, anywhere between 30-40pc had been dropped."

Coonawarra Grape & Wine Incorporated's Hugh Koch said disease pressure had been a significant issue for the region.

But, despite this, quite good quality had been recorded with careful disease monitoring.

"Tonnages are a bit down from where we are generally," Mr Koch said.

"A lot of fruit and flowers did not set well in October, so the result was always going to be the case."

White grapes were picked in fine weather and had very good baume, which was a great start to vintage, according to Mr Koch.

"But the jury is still out on cabernet. Though, early grapes had a bit lower baume," he said.

"It is still very difficult to read the vintage, a lot needs to come off the vines still."

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