Vintage Reports, Years: 1999

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1999 vintage report for Mornington Peninsula (Victoria)

David Leslie, president of the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons’ Association, said 1999 had been a challenging season for the region. ‘In summary, after a difficult and anxiety-provoking season, Mornington Peninsula wineries have produced very promising wines but the quantities are disappointingly low,’ he said. Spring was cool and particularly windy with sporadic hailstorms, resulting in relatively […]

1999 vintage report for McLaren Vale (South Australia)

For many, the region had its wettest vintage for some time. ‘However, a lot of the “gloom and doom” forecasts around Easter did not materialise,’ said David Dean, general manager of McLaren Vale Winemakers Inc. ‘Good management led to good quality, but those who overcropped paid the price.’ Yields were down by an average of […]

1999 vintage report for Margaret River (Western Australia)

This report was supplied by Simon Robertson of Devil’s Lair Vineyard. Margaret River’s season started with a very wet September, bringing large rainfalls to the region typically not seen for 5-7 years. October became drier and November drier still, restoring some normality to seasonal conditions. With this drier weather, mild conditions were still being experienced, […]

1999 vintage report for Macedon Ranges (Victoria)

Ken Murchison of the Macedon Vignerons Association said several vineyards were badly affected by the unusual ‘cold air mass’ (advective) frost on the night of 27 October and some by subsequent radiation frosts. ‘However, the majority of growers reported that they picked some of the best fruit ever,’ he said. ‘A long dry and warm […]

1999 vintage report for Langhorne Creek (South Australia)

Greg Follett, chairman of the Langhorne Creek Winemakers Association, said a lot of new plantings had come into production this vintage. Some big wineries had fermentation capacity problems when rain caused grapes to be picked early. Vintage started in late February for sparkling whites, continuing into early March for white varieties and mid-March for reds. […]

1999 vintage report for King Valley (Victoria)

Peter Read, president of the King Valley Grapegrowers Association, said 1999 was probably the best year for some years for white wines, because of the temperate/dry weather. Good fruitset led to an increase in yield of approximately 5%. Weather during vintage was generally very dry with only one or two heavy showers followed by good […]

1999 vintage report for Yarra Valley (Victoria)

Nick Bulleid writes in Southcorp Wines vintage report that conditions had remained exceptionally dry in the Yarra since vintage and budburst was early, Chardonnay shooting in late August. Good rain in September helped fill most dams but the weather remained very variable with extremes of heat and cold. Flowering got underway with Chardonnay and Pinot […]

1999 vintage report for Wrattonbully (South Australia)

Harvesting finished with fine weather helping to get the grapes off before an onset of rainy conditions, said Bruce Burgess, president of the Wrattonbully Wine Industries Association. Some frosts at the end of the season led to some difficulty with picking. Yields were slightly down but not to the extent that was expected with the […]

1999 vintage report for Warren Valley (Western Australia)

Vintage in the Warren Valley region started on 18 February with fruit for sparkling wines, with varietal grapes being picked from 13 March. Yields were average, but tonnages in the region increased with young vines coming into production. Weather during vintage was mild and the dry conditions corrected incidences of botrytis. ‘The vintage was well […]

1999 vintage report for Hunter Valley (New South Wales)

The major problem facing the Hunter Valley for the 1999 vintage was availability of storage capacity following an increase in yield of 30%, said Bruce Tyrrell, president of the Hunter Valley Vineyard Association. Yield was up due to the best winter and spring rains this decade. Weather during vintage was mostly fine. Bruce said the […]

1999 vintage report for Upper Hunter Valley (New South Wales)

A very good growing season, after unseasonal wet weather throughout the winter period, led to good bunch weights and yields which were up 5-10% on 1998. Gr’me Pearson, president of the Upper Hunter Winemakers’ Association, said weather was very overcast at the start of vintage, but improved as vintage progressed. Powdery mildew became obvious for […]

1999 vintage report for Tumbarumba (New South Wales)

The Alpine areas of NSW had excellent winter and spring rain and early growth was good, said Nick Bulleid in Southcorp Wines’ vintage report. However, the severe frost on 27 October damaged almost all vineyards in the area, with many grower vineyards showing total loss. Sprinkler protection on lower parts of the Southcorp Tumbarumba vineyard […]

1999 vintage report for Swan Valley (Western Australia)

David Atkinson, president of the Swan Valley & Regional Winemakers’ Association, said it was a cool vintage and grapes took longer to ripen. Vintage took place at a nice easy pace. Crop levels of whites (Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Verdelho) was up about 10%. Reds (Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon) yielded about the same as last year. […]

1999 vintage report for Gippsland (Victoria)

Average yield across the Gippsland region was down by 30-40%. There were several reasons for the drop in yield, including powdery mildew, botrytis and frost. ‘The region is huge in area and consequently conditions vary across the region,’ said Val Friend, a member of the Gippsland Grapegrowers and Winemakers Association. ‘Each grower is relatively small […]

1999 vintage report for Geographe (Western Australia)

Mild conditions at flowering, a good fruitset followed by a long spring and mild summer led to an increase in yield in the Geographe region. David Rourke, president of the vignerons’ association, said weather during vintage was mild and cool and there had been no problems with diseases or mildew. There were higher than normal […]

1999 vintage report for Geelong (Victoria)

1999 will be recorded as a vintage for very long-lived whites and reds, said Paul Chambers, president of the Geelong Winegrowers Association. He said excellent warm summer weather produced good colour and sugar levels. There was virtually no rain between February and May. Poor fruitset in Merlot and Chardonnay reduced yields, but other varieties showed […]

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