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1997 vintage report for Adelaide Plains (South Australia)

‘Nature threw at us some unique conditions in 1997,’ said Joe Grilli, president of the Adelaide Plains Winemakers’ Association. The lead-up to the 1997 vintage was ‘classic’ for the Adelaide environs, i.e. a wettish winter followed by a dry spring with little or no disease pressure. Joe said it was evident early on that yields would be significantly down on 1996 and, in fact, they ended up below average. ‘Basically the entire summer was compressed into the first two weeks of February with a dose of tropical weather prior to this, and an unbelievable run of mild weather afterwards,’ said Joe. ‘The result of all this was that the Adelaide area experienced, for all varieties, the latest harvest ever.’ Joe said those growers who did not lose patience were rewarded with some of the best fruit ever. ‘The newly cleaned-up whites have real poise and the reds are very dense, helped by the occurrence of some late season shrivelling of the grape berries.’