The Tasmanian wine grape vintage produced another exceptional result in 2019, a new record for the largest to date and widespread reports of excellent quality.
Wine Tasmania’s technical officer, Paul Smart, reported that the final estimate for Tasmanian wine grape tonnes harvested in 2019 was 17,180, roughly equating to 1.24 million cases (dozens).
“This is an increase on last year’s record result of 16,280 tonnes and reflects an unprecedented four consecutive years of strong yields for Tasmania”, he said.
“Tasmania now produces 1.0% of Australia’s total wine grapes by volume and an impressive 4.2% of its wine grape value.”
Vintage began early than usual in February for super premium sparkling wine grapes, with the majority of harvesting complete by late April. It was a warmer than average season, with measured heat for most wine growing areas close to the warmest ever recorded. It was also a generally dry season across the state, reducing disease pressure, with the East Coast experiencing drought conditions.
It was a varied 2018/19 season around the island, demonstrating that no two seasons are the same in the cool climate of Tasmania. Bush fires experienced in the south west directly impacted some grape growers in the area, whilst frosts during budburst and rain during flowering also impacted on yields in some parts of the island.
Smart said it was both necessary and fortunate that Tasmanian grape growers were used to being agile and managing the every-varied seasonal conditions in order to get the best possible quality wine each year.
“The 2019 Tasmanian wine grape vintage results are a credit to all involved in the hardworking Tasmanian wine community, who do what they do because they know Tasmania can produce some of the best wine in the world.”
Tasmania’s global reputation for outstanding wines is reflected in the value of both our grapes (five times the country’s average) and wine (more than double the country’s average), as well as increasing visitation to the island’s cellar doors (close to 300,000 interstate / international visitors to the twelve months to December 2018).
View Wine Tasmania’s updated infographic on the sector’s performance here.
2019 Tasmanian Vintage Snapshot:
• 17,180 tonnes (approximately 1.24M cases of wine)
• 38% of the 2019 vintage produced sparkling wine (representing 37% of all Pinot Noir and 71% of all Chardonnay)
• The average value of Tasmanian wine grapes in 2019 was $2,827/tonne ($3,133/tonne for table wine grapes and $2,640/tonne for sparkling wine grapes)
• View breakdown by variety and wine growing area attached