MOLI VIEW™

Following the record 2006 harvest, there was a glut of grapes across Australia, raising concern that the bounty would mean lower wine prices. Mother Nature quickly reversed those concerns with a vintage-long drought in 2007 that severely cut grape production. According to the Australia Wine & Brandy Corporation, red wine production is down by almost 40% and white by 17%. Yields per acre are the worst in 30 years. Western Australia was affected least by the drought, and production there helped offset the 50% harvest reductions some other wineries suffered. "In all the 38 vintages Grant Burge has made wines, 2007 stands out as the worst ever," says Burge of his South Australia properties. Further, predictions coming out of the recent Wine Australia Export Conference call for a short crop for 2008 due to predicted carryover problems in bud development and probable ongoing water restrictions, boding significantly price hikes for consumers. Actually, it was a one-two weather punch, beginning with spring frosts Down Under in late 2006, where seasons are reversed. "I drove the kids to Watervale for their tennis lessons early one morning, and the vines were green, recalls Mount Horrocks' Stephanie Toole of her Cordon Cut Riesing vineyard. "By the time I came back, they were all black."
Read more