Tasmanians are being urged to speak to their vineyard neighbours before doing any burn offs in coming weeks.
Cooler seasonal conditions mean the ripening of this year’s vintage has been delayed, with most vineyards harvesting about two weeks later than normal.
This will push harvest closer to the traditional burning off and non-permit period for fires, potentially increasing the risk of smoke taint for vineyards.
Wines made from grapes exposed to smoke can be at risk of being unpalatable and unsaleable.
Primary Industries and Water Minister Jo Palmer said it was so important for landowners to be having conversations with surrounding vineyards ahead of any planned burn-offs.
“The Government is acutely aware of the need for managed fuel reduction burns and is helping to provide the tools to manage these burns to reduce the risk of smoke taint in winegrapes,” Minister Palmer said.
“Through the Agricultural Innovation Fund, we provided Wine Tasmania with more than $217,000 last year to investigate the production of sparkling wine from smoke-affected winegrapes.
“Last year we also announced $100,000 in funding to support emergency smoke testing of winegrapes by producers to aid decision making.
“This funding, delivered by Wine Tasmania, provides rebates of up to $1000 to cover the costs of rapid testing for smoke taint of winegrapes.”
Landowners can learn more about how they can reduce the potential impact of smoke taint by going to Wine Tasmania’s website and downloading the TasVine resource.
Tasmanian wine continues to go from strength to strength, with the average value of the State’s wine grapes up three per cent to $3,237 a tonne for 2022.
“Our incredible wine industry contributes more than $200 million to Tasmania’s economy, and is a major employer and tourist drawcard,” Minister Palmer said.
“The [Tasmanian] Government will continue to work with winemakers and stakeholders to keep growing this Tasmanian success story.”
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