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2011 vintage report for Mount Gambier (South Australia)

Supplied by Terry Strickland, president, Mount Gambier Regional Winegrowers Association
Growing season: The Mount Gambier wine region experienced what the most optimistic vigneron described as “interesting and challenging”. A great start to the season with excellent winter rainfall and budburst soon deteriorated with a significant frost event on 25 October which caused heavy damage to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the southern part of the region. While secondary crops followed, yields were much reduced and the subsequent delay of up to three to four weeks ensured that ripening and botrytis issues emerged later in April with increasing cloud, rainfall and decreasing temperatures. Fruit that was picked early was sound and displayed excellent varietal characteristics. Fruit left to try to achieve ‘normal’ target Baumes inevitably suffered from botrytis issues later in the season.
Vintage: The cooler summer and rainfall ensured that the 2010-11 season was much later than previous years where each year seemed to be a week earlier than the last. The season was consistently wet, with resultant management issues of downy mildew, weeds and canopy management. While most growers were able to stay on top of the downy issue, the ever-expanding canopies and late-season botrytis provided a real challenge. All varieties were harvested a month later than was the case in 2010, mid April marking commencement rather than mid March. Sauvignon Blanc was harvested in late April.
Yields and quality: Yields were generally well down on previous years across all varieties as a result of the impact of the October frost in southern vineyards. Significant parcels of fruit were rejected by wine companies as a result of botrytis infection. Varieties harvested early show good development with winemakers producing more elegant styles. A significant lesson for both viticulturists and winemakers was that if increasing seasonal variability is going to be the norm, then a more flexible approach or adaptive management strategy will need to be adopted. This may mean picking earlier, providing growers with options for canopy management and the like.