GUARDIANS OF THE GRAPES BY LEWIS DRAYTON, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICER, NSW RFS.
As dry lightning storms rumbled through the Hunter in October 2019, so began one of the most challenging vintages in the history of the valley. Fires were burning in the mountains surrounding the Hunter Valley and large amounts of smoke settled across the valley floor. It was during this time that the need for effective communication between the NSW RFS and the wine industry became evident. Throughout the 2019/20 fire season, the Hunter Valley was surrounded by the Little L Complex fires, the Owendale fire, Crumps Complex fires, the Kerrys Ridge fire and the northern edge of the Gospers Mountain fire, with hundreds of firefighters involved to contain and extinguish them. There were also fire outbreaks which threatened homes and property in the communities of North Rothbury, Greta and Pelaw Main.
The wines are made from some of the oldest vines in Australia. Although the region has long-standing tradition, the adoption of modern technologies has helped the Hunter Region stay informed during fires. Most businesses in the Hunter have accessed the Fires Near Me app and set up watch zones to ensure they are up-to-date on fire activity across the region and how it might impact their property and crop. As both a vigneron and a NSW RFS member, Stephen has an insider’s perspective of the challenges faced by the wine industry.
These fires contributed to significant volumes of smoke settling across the region, putting grapes at “Engaging with wine and grape producers is critical risk of developing smoke taint. Smoke taint is a broad to ensure harvesting and wine making operations can term for a set of smoke-imparted compounds found in continue safely and with a reduced impact of smoke affected wines, constituting a wine fault. on fruit quality,” says Stephen. Pokolbin Brigade Captain Stephen Drayton fought “When vineyards are close to harvesting their fruit, it’s many of these fires alongside his fellow volunteers. important we keep wine producers informed of our Stephen is also a fifth generation vigneron in Pokolbin. firefighting approach and strategy.” Pokolbin is the oldest continuous wine region in Bush fire preparedness in the wine industry across Australia, with a history dating back to the early 1800s NSW consists mainly of burning-off grapevine cuttings. when the first grapes were planted. 32 BUSH FIRE bulletin || FEATURES
