Wine Tasmania CEO Sheralee Davies takes us through Tasmania’s 2019 vintage so far.
Grapes for Tasmania’s sparkling wine are the first to be harvested and we’re receiving lots of positive reports of very high quality from wine producers. Overall yields are expected to be generally in line with the past three vintages, which would be an unprecedented four consecutive years of strong yields for Tasmania.
One of the first to harvest grapes was Josef Chromy Wines in Relbia, with general manager and chief winemaker Jeremy Dineen reporting on very positive quality in 2019. In his words: “We’ve had a warmer than average summer and beautiful weather at flowering which has supported solid yields. A warm and mostly dry January, with a couple of good rain events, has set us up for a fantastic and early start to the sparkling wine harvest. This is possibly some of the best sparkling fruit I’ve seen since 2013!”
It’s been a varied 2018/19 season around the island so far, demonstrating that no two seasons are the same in the cool climate of Tasmania. Fortunately Tasmanian growers are used to being agile and managing the every-varied seasonal conditions in order to get the best possible quality of wine each year. One of the reasons so many people love our wines is because our they clearly reflect these seasonal differences.
Bush fires experienced in the south west have created some worry for grape growers, but we’re very fortunate that an anticipated 95% of Tasmania’s vineyard area has thankfully experienced no direct smoke impacts based on advanced scientific analyses undertaken to date. We’re also fortunate that the national science around smoke impacts is so advanced and allows for very specific scientific analysis of each individual vineyard site to inform business decisions.
2019 (so far) has demonstrated that growing grapes and making wine in Tasmania is full of variety and it’s a credit to all involved in the hardworking Tasmanian wine community, who do what they do because they know Tasmania can produce some of the best wine in the world. Yes, we know we’re biased, but Tasmania’s global reputation for outstanding wines is reflected in the value of both our grapes (six times the country’s average) and wine (more than double the country’s average), as well as increasing visitation to the island’s cellar doors (close to 300,000 interstate / international visitors to the twelve months to September 2018). View some key stats here and an overview of Tasmania’s wine sector here.
You’ll find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, where we’ll keep you updated on vintage 2019 across the island over the next 8-12 weeks. We look forward to sharing the rewards of the 2019 Tasmanian vintage over the coming months and years.
