Following a dry winter, the region experienced an early budburst, which persisted at all phenological stages throughout the season. There were a number of significant rainfall events throughout spring, however these were more spaced out than in the previous year, meaning vineyard access was not limited and disease control was more easily achieved.

Early vine growth was generally good and vines were well set up for flowering. Weather conditions at flowering were variable, with fruitset dependent on variety and location.

Conditions became drier in late spring and into summer, with most areas reporting well below average rainfall from flowering to harvest. Fruit development and harvest yield were significantly impacted by availability of irrigation water.

Final yields were generally reported to be higher than in 2023, although some sites reported lower yields. Compared with the long-term average, most sites reported average yields, with a small number reporting higher than average.

Grape and wine quality is reported to be good to excellent, again with some variability showing dependent on location. At this early stage, wines appear to be worthy of ageing, especially where earlier than usual harvest dates resulted in good acid retention.

The main challenges faced this season were reduced or limited water availability and increased input costs, particularly cost of labour, chemical and oak inputs.

Many wineries also reported impacts from an early and/or compacted vintage, and from an undersupply of key grape varieties.

A cool, wet spring in 2022 saw vignerons apply above average early season sprays to protect their crops against dreaded early season Powdery Mildew outbreaks before Christmas. Some inclement weather and winds around flowering also saw a modest fruit set in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir crops. All in all, a challenging start to the growing season of 22/23.

 A cool summer followed with repeat small falls of rain kept a lid on ripening, but some warm weeks in late February and early March were a welcome relief to most vignerons. At this stage, the Vintage seemed 5-10 days behind schedule depending on location, with a low chance of it getting back to parity.

A moderately wet winter was followed by a dry period that combined with high pressure systems, leading to some late frosts in the Moorabool and Barwon Valleys. The Bellarine and Surfcoast avoided the late frosts however significant wind events at flowering resulted in below average crop yields.

 The wet and humid growing season that followed was not for the faint hearted.  As the vines grew strongly, vineyard managers and vignerons feverishly worked to control the resultant canopy, opening them up to allow airflow in the hope of preventing mildew. 

What a spectacular year for viticulture and winemaking. 2021 should go down in the records as one of those vintages that produces flavourful and nuanced wines with great longevity. The harvest parameters were almost perfect, with balanced acidity and full flavour profiles. Save a few scary fungal moments in the vineyards and slightly lower than anticipated crop levels there is not too much to falter. Harvest commenced in early feb for those producing sparkling wines and carried through to April for the late ripening varieties, picking after Easter was not uncommon. 

Moderate rainfall through early winter and spring of 2019 paired with crystal ball predictions of a hot dry summer was the perfect red herring to what would be a challenging year. Budburst appeared later than recent times with initial vine growth looking good. Less than ideal flowering conditions of reduced sunlight, cooler temperature and strong winds, combined with reduced bunch numbers on certain varieties produced a lower yielding vintage. Post fruit set saw significant fluctuation in weather with scorching days of >35 followed by autumnal 15-degree temperatures. Added to this were significant rainfall events through late January and early February that generated humid growing conditions and the threat of disease.

Harvest began later than previous years and yield was down by as much as 50%. Many growers suffered impact to quality from mildew or rot and vineyard management was tested. Fruit ripeness progressed slowly providing high natural acidity and delicate flavour profiles. Winemakers could well have been challenged in the cellar this year but we should see both quality and variability in style across all varieties.

Good rains in winter and spring set the scene for a strong vintage providing plenty of sub surface water reserves for the vines.

Burst occurred at a ‘normal’ time for the region with all developmental stages following suite.

A good rain event in December provided reason to maintain the optimism rolling into the Christmas period.

Alas, that was the last of the rain for the season with a miserly 20mm total for the next 4 months placing vignerons under intense pressure. 

Harvest kicked off mid to late Feb for sparkling base then continued to be fast and furious for the next 4 weeks easing up mid to late March.

The bonus for the 2017/2018 growing season was some rains in late summer/early autumn 2017. This did cause some problems for growers with some fruit left on the vine but for the majority set up a strong growing season for 2018 harvest with plenty of sub soil moisture and full dams.

Budburst occurred slightly later than the ‘norm’ with expectation early in the season that harvest would be slightly later than 2017. As we often find the vines naturally caught up in the ensuing months with the likely harvest date pulled back to line up with 2017.

A lack of rainfall made growers heavily reliant on sub surface moisture and stored water sources in the growing season.

Vintage for 2017 started rolling in the autumn of 2016. The earliest harvest in living memory from 2016 combined with a drier and warmer March and April resulted in early senescence for the vines.

Above average rainfall in winter and spring set the scene for a strong vintage providing plenty of sub surface water reserves for the vines.

Burst occurred at a more ‘normal’ time for the region with all developmental stages following suite.

A somewhat dry and warmer period finished the year and continued into 2017 resulting in vignerons feeling the pressure due to lack of water. Fortunately, a good rain event in the latter half of January and again in early February provided some much needed respite for the vines enabling veraison and strong ripening to occur.