While other farmers scanned the skies for a drop of rain during a very dry summer, grape-growers enjoyed the long, sunny days that were perfect for ripening grapes.
Peter Althaus said his grapes at Stoney Vineyard in the Coal River Valley were 14 days advanced as he went into March. Then down came 175mm of rain In March – the wettest since Peter and Ruth bought the vineyard in 1989, and probably long before that, considering the usual rainfall in the valley is about 480mm a year.
Instead of the advance the text-book summer had given the grapes, picking finished two weeks later than usual, in mid-May.
What looked as if it were heading to be a great vintage all over Tasmania, finished up rather less so. Either vineyards rushed to get the grapes in before the rains, risking the grapes not reaching the optimum sugar levels, or they were hit by the rain and the grapes sucked up too much water and split. Grapes such as sauvignon blanc which have thinner skins and are in tighter bunches than other varieties were particularly affected by splitting.
Botrytis also became a problem for some. This can take the form of grey rot, which is not wanted, or noble rot, the desirable one that concentrates the sugar. Peter Althaus had some noble rot this year in his sauvignon blanc, which, he says, will “add to the spectrum of aroma of the wine, giving it linden blossom and honey aromasâ€.
By and large, vineyards in Tamar Valley and Pipers Brook in the north and inland in the Derwent and Coal River valleys in the south, fared better with the rain than those near the coast in the south and chardonnay and pinot noir enjoyed a better year than some other varieties.
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