In the early hours of New Year’s Eve, 2019, the bushfires were fast approaching Johansen Wines’ Mountain View vineyard.

At around 8.00am, the fire had reached the vineyard following Rural Fire Service (RFS) mobile warnings which woke Helle Southwell and warned her and her family to evacuate.

“We were woken at 4:30am by the RFS alerts sent to our phones. We got up, packed our bags and prepared the houses as best we could. All this done in bleary-eyed disbelief,” she said in a post on social media.

“By about 8.00am, the fire front could be seen on our side of Black Range, heading for Mountain View vineyard. We decided to evacuate to the town.”

Southwell added the Mountain View vineyard was entirely burnt out, with only a small amount of the Merlot and Gamay vines left standing.

Fortunately, she continued, livestock survived alongside her house and a shed thanks to heroic efforts of “the heroes in orange suits”.

“The pasture land and bush land has been burnt […] (and) the machinery shed, other hay sheds, water tanks and vineyard infrastructure (were) all burnt,” she added.

“We had moved most of the tractors and machinery to the Glenburnie site, which was left in good shape, and so the equipment was saved.”

Southwell commented that the Glenburnie vineyard remains in good shape after tireless efforts from local RFS fire crews managed to prevent the fire spreading through the entire site.

In a report from The Drinks Business, it was revealed that Courabyra Wines was also caught up in the fires and has experienced some damage to vines. However, the cellar door, sheds and main property remain standing.

In a post on social media, the winery thanked members of the public for their messages of support and customers who placed wine orders to help fund repairs.

Tumbarumba is a relatively cool climate region, with vineyards ranging in altitude from around 300 metres to over 800m in the western foothills of the Snowy Mountains. There are over 25 producers in the region with around 219ha under vine, according to Wine Australia.

While rain has been forecast in some parts of the state, Angus Barnes, executive officer of the New south Wales Wine Industry Association, said it is not enough “to put these terrible fires out”.

“Our number one concern is to ensure the safety and security of our people in the wine and wine grape growing industry,” he said.

“We have concerns regarding smoke taint across a number of regions in NSW and as we speak, we are conducting a series of fire and smoke workshops across the state to advise our growers and winemakers about the challenges of smoke and the possibility to test for any damage.”

The full update on the bushfire situation will be published in the February issue of The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker.

Images: Johansen Wines.