Bush fire affecting the vintage 2020 in Australia

New South Wales is suffering a potential loss to grape crops at more than A$100 million.

The major issue is smoke taint. 2019 and 2020 are the most challenging years for Australian wine industry.

The Hunter Valley’s typical crush is about 6000-7000 tonnes and the damage now means that anywhere between 1500 and 3000 tonnes have been lost.

Angus Barnes, executive officer of the NSW Wine Industry Association

To bring the vines back to a healthy state takes time. There is however a shortage of labour. A majority of them is in fears during the fires. The outlook of tourism is bleak because of the Covid-19 virus.

New South Wales is not alone, Adelaide Hills wine region in South Australia is also suffering from massive damage including winery buildings and vineyards. Even Kangaroo Island, the third largest island in Australia, 112 km from Adelaide could not escape.

We lost 280 ha of land, 11ha of which is our high-density planted vineyard. We lost all of our vineyard equipment and the shed.

Yale Norris, The Islander Estate