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1997 vintage report for Hunter Valley (New South Wales)

Vintage in the Hunter Valley region started at the beginning of February, normal for this area, and Neil McGuigan of the Hunter Valley Vineyard Association reports that yields were up by about 5%. ‘Yields on established vineyards were basically the same as last year, with increased tonnes arising from new plantings coming into production,’ he said. Neil said the weather during vintage was ‘excellent’ until the end of January, but two major falls of rain on 4 and 12 of February caused a number of problems. ‘Some bunch rot was evident on thin skinned varieties, but considering the conditions the wine quality turned out quite well,’ he said. There was great variation in quality in the reds. On vineyards with low cropping levels and mature age vines, quality was very good; however, heavily cropped vineyards did not fare as well. Some excellent white wines were produced with Semillon and Verdelho performing strongly. ‘It was a very difficult vintage with respect to physically harvesting the fruit,’ Neil said. ‘However, the overall quality was quite good. It must be remembered that some of the great white wines of the Hunter, namely the 70s, 79s and 84s, came from vintages not dissimilar to 1997.’