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1999 vintage report for Tasmania

The Tasmanian report was prepared by Duncan Farquhar, horticulturist at the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, Tasmania. Duncan wishes to thank the vignerons around the state who contributed to this report and also Peter O’Sullivan of the office of the Tasmanian Commissioner of Licensing for his early yield predictions. Vintage 1999 in Tasmania will be remembered for the well-timed rainfall during the growing season and the long sunny finish for still table wines. Crop levels were generally below average but with new bearing area should see a total vintage just below that of 1998. A warm and wet September gave an early budburst starting the growing season for 1999. A cool and windy October followed by a cool and wet November brought the season’s progress back to normal. The late frost that affected much of south eastern Australia on 28 October caused minor damage to some areas of Tasmanian vineyards. The adoption of effective frost protection systems has limited the impact of these events. A very warm December and January allowed for good conditions for flowering and fruit set, the exception being later flowering varieties which faced Christmas time thunderstorms. Growing vines escaped serious damage because full storm force winds only touched the state’s north for one day, 27 December. January was dry as well as warm for the early period of berry expansion. Mild cloudy easterly weather in January placed vineyard managers on the alert for what has been described as the highest powdery mildew pressure year for 10 years. A warm wet February provided favourable conditions for the most widespread occurrence of downy mildew. That disease pressures were substantially avoided is a credit to the readiness and vigilance of vineyard management teams across the state. A record March rainfall of 91.2 mm was recorded at Hobart but was around normal for the north of the state. Natural rainfalls for the season were spaced in a manner that reduced the need for supplementary irrigation in many cases to zero. Areas of the north received record low April rains despite an Easter rain on 5 April, toward the end of sparkling harvest. Conditions from mid April stabilised to finish the season with an extended but very sunny ripening period for still wines. Ideal sparkling base wine composition was able to be achieved with intense fruit flavours. Late season sunshine and very cold vintage nights should produce many stylish red wines of good colour and body. These same conditions for whites will produce elegant wines of full flavour. Pipers BrookFavourable temperature and moisture conditions in the six-week period between veraison and commencement of harvest, were ideal for development of the northern Tasmanian crop. On average commencement of harvest was five days earlier than normal. Harvest for sparkling wine commenced on 27 March and continued until the third week of April, while tablegrapes were harvested between 30 March and 15 May. Pressures from botrytis and downy mildew were avoided on well-managed blocks with open canopies and well-exposed fruit zones. In general Scott Henry trellises performed extremely well in delivering ripe clean fruit. Chardonnay harvested from the Pipers Brook area had some of the best composition figures that we have seen in recent years. It was not uncommon to harvest grapes with 13û13.5¦Be, 9.5 g/L acidity and pH of less than 3.2. Similarly Pinot Noir, across a broad range of blocks, produced alcohol levels in the young wines of between 13.2 and 13.6 natural alcohol.Crops from Riesling and Gewnrztraminer exhibited small bunch weights giving very good harvest composition and good concentration but at a lower yield per hectare. Pinot Gris yielded well as did Sauvignon Blanc in both Tamar and Pipers Brook regions. Pinot Noir from privileged sites has produced wines with a tannin structure and flavour intensity not seen before in the history of the vineyards. These results have been confirmed by recent tastings of wines which have completed malolactic fermentation.Sparkling base wines are the usual high quality from Pipers Brook and Pipers River areas. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir produced intense fruit flavours in wines with ideal sparkling wine characteristics namely 11% alcohol with titratable acidities between 9.5 g/L and 12 g/L, pH less than 3.1.A significant feature of the vintage was increased commercial volumes of Sauvignon Blanc from Tamar and Pipers Brook areas. This trend will increase over the next years as new Sauvignon vineyards approach maturity. The wines are characterised by a mix of the tropical fruit flavours indicating good bunch exposure and spicy herbaceous characters from the cool ambient conditions.The 1999 vintage will be remembered for the high quality of the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Alsace varieties produced on a wide range of sites.Tamar ValleyWell-managed vineyards produced brilliantly flavoured clean fruit. Fruit was well balanced with good acid levels. Divided canopies and particularly Scott Henry trellis really showed their strengths this season. The cold, sunny April caused canopies to drop diseased leaves. Observant growers prepared to intervene escaped a year with high downy mildew, powdery mildew and botrytis pressure. Fruit loads were higher than expected in some blocks. Five distinct flights of lightbrown apple moth (LBAM) were noted in one Tamar vineyard. These could be the result of different rates of development on different host plants. Effective LBAM control was reported by three cooperating neighbours using pheromone ties. North WestRain throughout the season kept vines growing strongly. Some excellent quality sparkling base was harvested in late March. Ripening of heavy crops for still wine was difficult with a particularly cool autumn. Derwent ValleyFruit ripened well in a long growing season with vintage around 6û10 days earlier than an average year. Picking starting on 23 March for sparkling base. Sparkling bases contained higher total acids on average and were of the reliably high quality for these Tasmanian wines. There was some hen and chicken bunch variability in Pinot Noir and to a lesser extent in Chardonnay. This resulted from unsettled weather during flowering and at Christmas and new year. Low bird pressure was considered to be due to February rains. Yields were generally moderate throughout the region. The Derwent Valley is usually a no-botrytis pressure region but this year had some. Wines from late picked Riesling are expected to be outstanding. Clean well-ripened fruit will result in full bodied wines. East CoastModerate crop levels secured good fruit quality in most vineyards. The east coast received above average rainfall for April. This slowed the region’s ripening to a normal harvest date. Downy mildew and powdery mildew were evident in some vineyards but easily controlled. Some botrytis was evident in this region where it is usually essentially absent. 1999 was a season without a great deal of wind and many still days. Finely structured Riesling wines, fresh Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of slightly lighter style will feature from this region in 1999. Coal River ValleyGrowers believe that the year should produce fruit of similar quality to 1998 with some reporting an improvement in quality prompted mainly by lower yields than the previous year Powdery mildew and downy mildew outbreaks were generally well managed. Late ripening conditions contained some botrytis infections. Botrytis was observed to increase markedly in sheltered areas. There was a greatly reduced need for irrigation water due to regular rains including a record rainfall for March. A sunny rain-free early May topped off a great season for still wines. Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling ripened under optimal conditions of cool nights and warm, sunny days. Sorell and Peninsula/Huon and ChannelSome stunning well ripened Pinot Noir fruit came from this region this year. Vintage finished on 22 May. Some areas received record March rainfalls. The warm and wet season proved challenging for disease control. Frosts in late October affected some vineyards in the Huon and Channel district.