2019 General Harvest Report Australia

Australia's 2019 vintage was faced by some challenges. Where some regions faced droughts other regions had more trouble with birds picking in the grapes. This years harvest therefor was 3% lower than last year. The colder regions saw a bigger decrease than the warmer regions. However as seen many times before, lower quantities will still result in some great quality wines.

Margaret River
With plenty of rain in October and cool weather in November, the start of harvest was postponed  by two weeks. However the cool season resulted in a slower sugar accumulation, flavour development and retention of acidity, which all add up to high quality wines.

Yarra Valley
A dry season and high temperatures in January and February made that the season was challenging. The pinot noir and chardonnay harvest started in optimal conditions but the pace of harvest had to be increased due to changing weather in mid-March. Due to the heat, grapes had to be treated very gently. Some red varieties that are more responsive to warmer conditions came out very well.

Tasmania
A warmer than usual summer in Tasmania, with a dry and warm January, and some good rain events, resulted in a great start to the sparkling wine harvest. This year's sparkling wine is possibily one of the best seen so far.

Click here for the total vintage report 2019 from 'Wine Australia'.