Rutherglen’s resilient vintage

Unusual

weather conditions, including a long and cool spring with abundant rainfall and a mild summer, have posed significant obstacles for local grape growers. Despite the difficulties, the region’s winemakers remain optimistic about the quality of the fruit harvested.

The delayed ripening of grapes due to the prolonged cool weather and increased risk of fungal diseases posed significant challenges for local grape growers in Rutherglen.

The harvest season started three to four weeks later than usual, causing a delay in the overall process. However, the slow ripening period has resulted in grapes accumulating excellent colour and flavour ripeness, with yields expected to be slightly above average.

Winemaker Jen Pfeiffer of Pfeiffer Wines in Wahgunyah expressed the challenges they faced due to the spring flooding, which caused severe damage to their vineyards.

Access to the Sunday Creek vineyard was lost for over a month, resulting in reduced yields of up to 90 percent in certain blocks. Despite the adverse conditions, Jen remains positive about the quality of the vintage, highlighting the exceptional Chardonnay and earlierpicked parcels of Shiraz.

“The well-publicised flooding through the Murray River system saw the river peak at Corowa at 8.07m on November 15th, causing severe flood damage to our Sunday Creek vineyard, and minor flood damage to our Carlyle vineyard,” she said.

“We lost access to the Sunday Creek vineyard from October 27 to December 9, being unable to drive any vehicles or spray the vineyard during this critical time.

“Parts of the vineyard were completely underwater for weeks, with the vines dropping their leaves and fruit completely.

“The rain continued throughout December and January, until we finally received some respite from it, with no rain falling at all in February, just in the nick of time for the onset of harvest.”

Neighbouring winemaker Damien Cofield of Cofield Wines noted that while the wet weather delayed the harvest and stretched it out over a longer period, it also allowed for better management of grape intake.

“This does have the advantage of us not being overrun with grapes all at once and spacing intakes out a bit, which is good for the team,” the second-generation winemaker said.

“Our Rutherglen grapes actually cropped quite well and were up on last year. Unfortunately, some of our King and Ovens Valley growers reported up to 50 per cent fewer grapes than last year. It is still early, but the quality looks on par with last year.”

Belinda Chambers from Lake Moodemere Estate emphasised the challenge of controlling Downy Mildew during the summer period.

“We had to be vigilant in controlling the risk. We’re lucky we have good drainage in our vineyard which meant we could operate our machinery to keep any disease under control pre-vintage,” she said.

“Despite the weather challenges, the quality and the yield are both better in 2023 compared to the previous year.”

All three winemakers agreed that while the 2023 vintage may not be as consistent as previous years, there will still be some exceptional wines produced.

“Quality is variable, which is indicative of the season, however there are always some gems in the cellar worth discovering,” Jen Pfeiffer said.

“I am very pleased with the quality of my Chardonnay this vintage, it has been a real highlight, while my earlier picked parcels of Shiraz are looking very strong, as well as one outstanding parcel of Muscat, picked just before the Easter rain event.”

Damien Cofield agreed that the quality of the grapes varied more than normal.

“The early picked red grapes such as Sangiovese and Shiraz are very good, but parcels taken at the end of harvest struggled a bit.

“The reds are likely to be of a more refined style, with integrated, not extracted tannins and with lower alcohol levels. This will likely lead to brighter fruit characters in some reds.

“The whites and sparkling should be similar to previous years, with excellent acidity levels keeping the wines fresh.”

Belinda Chambers said quality was fairly consistent across the board.

“The Shiraz and the Durif look particularly good,” she said. “There are pronounced forward fruit flavours and good complexity on the palate.”

While the challenges of the growing season have been significant, the wine industry now faces additional hurdles as outlined in the recent ABARES outlook report.

The report highlights a sharp decline in the value of winegrape production, mainly attributed to low red winegrape prices and crop abandonment caused by wet conditions and disease pressures.

Furthermore, wine exports are expected to decrease due to the oversupply of red wines and ongoing challenges with Chinese tariffs and supply chain constraints.

Despite these challenges, the report does offer a glimmer of hope for the industry with the diversification of Australia’s wine exports into emerging markets beginning to bear fruit.

Southeast Asia has seen strong growth in both the commercial and premium ends of the price spectrum, with key emerging markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines showing promising potential.