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2008 vintage report for Gippsland (Victoria)

By Graham Scott
Media Officer
Wines of Gippsland Inc.

The short report for Gippsland is that it all happened early and very quickly. In the west, harvest began with Sauvignon Blanc mid-February and while most of the grapes were picked by April, some southerly-facing slopes held fruit until early May to ensure full ripeness. In South Gippsland most fruit was harvested before the usual time of starting, a full month early for the zone. It was the same in the east where vintage began mid-February and was completed by Anzac Day. The fruit there was in top condition averaging 24°Brix.

The heatwave that brought harvest times forward also played havoc with the collapsing timetables of winery schedules. One winery had to commission a new press and a whole new undercover receiving area. Wineries also had to find inventive ways to keep grapes cool until they could be handled, and there was high pressure on storage capacity.

Quantity of fruit was back up to average, remembering that the region had suffered below average yields for the past two years. When more of the replantings and regrafted vines begin to bear we can expect yield to grow steadily. Overall, wineries were pleased with the quality of the fruit this vintage. In the east, the Cabernet Sauvignon showed good fruit definition. Across the region the Pinot Noir also looked good, if lightly structured this year, and came in early. Shiraz also benefited from the heat and produced excellently-structured wines across the region. For the South Gippsland wineries, besides some strong Shiraz and Pinot Noir, the Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling developed good aromatics and unwooded Chardonnay showed forward fruit characters. A strong development this year is in the number of sparkling wines. In the west, the demand doubled and there were just as many enquiries for forward contracts. Another interesting growth has been in plantings of Pinot Grigio.

The disease effect on vineyards was isolated to a few areas but was disastrous where it took hold. Powdery mildew hit both Central and East Gippsland. Botrytis in the east raised the cost of picking as the affected fruit has to be dropped before harvest. In some cases, crop losses were up to 50%. The east also faced the dual pressures of silver eyes and wasps so the vintage was perilous at best. Netting helped in most cases but the Tasmanian silver eyes were starving when they hit Gippsland and could slip though netting which would normally block them.

Next year’s Gippsland Wine Show will be worth watching.