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2008 vintage report for Murray Valley (Victoria)

By Mike Stone
Chief Executive Officer
Murray Valley Winegrowers’ Inc.

Despite everything, ‘it wasn’t too bad’ seems to be the consensus for vintage 2008 in the Murray Valley. It started ominously, with the zero water allocation announced on 1 July 2007 being the harbinger of a season in which growers were forced to make do with less.

Growers were sweating on getting enough irrigation water to produce viable crops. With water allocation announcements generally delivering only modest increases, growers who had the means were forced to buy supplementary water. At one stage, the water market valued 1ML at more than $1000 and many growers were compelled to buy water at this price.

Murray Valley Winegrowers’ (MVW) encouraged wineries to disclose proposed 2008 prices early to help growers decide whether a large investment in water could be justified. Many wineries complied, but several months later, confirmed pricing arrangements left growers believing they had been misled.

By mid-January, growers in the Victorian Murray Valley were trying to manage with an allocation of about one-third of entitlement. It was a different story for growers in the NSW Murray Valley. They were still operating under a zero allocation policy, but had received water to meet so-called ‘critical’ needs, on top of which half of the water that had been suspended without warning ahead of the 2007 harvest had been returned.

Given the dire situation regarding water, and the fact that at least half the Murray Valley’s 1200 growers had not bought more, it was a difficult season in which to forecast yield.

Very hot conditions blanketed the region in late December and early January, followed by relatively mild conditions prevailing until early March when a string of 35°C days and above were recorded, ending 19 March when the temperature plummeted to barely 30°C.

Very little disease was reported through the season and fruit quality, provided a reasonable irrigation program had been possible, was generally very good.

Winemakers said they’re really pleased with the whites this year. The reds, too, particularly those harvested before the heatwave in early March, have been praised. Shiraz was said to be a stand-out.