Image: Browns Family Wine Group chief winemaker Joel Tilbrook is very happy with the season so far. PHOTO: Leah Anderson-Byrne

By Justin Jenvey

Despite no rain in the past two weeks much of the Alpine Shire experienced its wettest February in six years, with rainfall tallies for the month the highest they’ve been since 2015 in Bright and Myrtleford.

One of the wettest summers in recent memory ended with 50mm to100mm of rain falling in major centres across the Alpine Shire last month.

Bright topped the list locally with 97.2mm recorded via the TAFCO weather station at Porepunkah, Mt Beauty was next with 83.6mm, while Myrtleford received 54.8mm.

With the rain in February all coming at the start of the month, grape growers across the Alpine Valleys are rejoicing with this year’s vintage now well underway.

Porepunkah grower Mick Dalbosco said the rain stopped just at the right time and the recent good weather had provided the perfect lead-in to picking.

“Some three weeks ago we were very concerned having gotten close to 300mm of rain from the start of January,” he said.

“Wine grapes do not like being wet for long periods of time when approaching maturity but the last two weeks have been fantastic, and the threat of those issues have disappeared now.

“We’re now halfway through harvest and everything is looking really good, the yield looks above average and the quality fantastic.”

Mr Dalbosco said this year’s bumper harvest would help make up for last year when grapes were tainted by bushfire smoke.

“This time last year late we were in strife due to the smoke that had been around,” he said.

“Twelve months on we’re moving into our normal autumn weather with high 20s, light winds and just that stable daily temperature, not interrupted by rain events or smoke.”

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