SA’s wine industry kicks off early vintage

season

March 2025 South Australia’s wine industry has kicked off one of its earliest vintages on record, off the back of a challenging year of drought, heat and frost. Picking has already begun in some of the state’s major wine regions — a month or more earlier than usual. But while some yields are expected to be down, the industry remains hopeful of excellent quality SA wines as a result. Renmark grower Jack Papageorgiou said it was the earliest he had started picking grapes in his 50 years in the Riverland. ”We had a mild winter and a bit war-mer spring, and that sort of brought a lot of our crops earlier. We noticed cherries were very early, so there was an indication we’re coming to an early season”, he said. Riverland Wine Grape-growers chair Ashley Ratcliff started harvesting in the second week of January, and agreed it could be one of the earliest ever starts for the region. “[I’m] not quite sure why the harvest started earlier but a lot of wine companies have started getting sparkling off which is important and it’s also really good because we’ve had this heat, so anything off is a bit of a bonus,” Mr Ratcliff said. “People who haven’t been affected by frost have actually got reasonable crops.” The Riverland, Barossa and Clare valleys suffered extensive crop damage in September due to a series of frosts, and the state has just sweltered through an extensive heatwave. ”A lot of growers are starting to see the impact of the frosts — low yields and that’s causing them challenges in respect to scheduling and hitting their estimate tonnes,” Mr Ratcliff said. The good news is that many winemakers are reporting back good quality from the fruit they are picking. “Feedback I’ve had from winemakers both large and small has been really encouraging, so the 2025 vintage looks like it could be a very good one,” Mr Ratcliff said. In the Clare Valley, picking of the famous riesling variety was in full swing. Jim Barry Wines general manager Tom Barry said it was their earliest vintage since 2016, and said it was challenging but promising. After a dry 2024, the winery has had to increase irrigation, watering more regularly and deeper into the soil. “With the dry weather, things are coming on reasonably quickly,” Mr Barry said. “A year like this throws up a few challenges … [but] our vineyards are looking really, really good considering.” Fifth generation Barossa Valley grape grower Tammy Schutz supplies fruit for high end red wines and also expects an early vintage. “We are almost a month early this year for vintage,” Mrs Schutz said. “Bud burst was earlier, and unfortunately a lot of growers around the valley were hit by frost. For the famous Barossa reds, the quantity was expected to be lower but quality high.

Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia