WARMER weather conditions in the region have potentially moved Coonawarra’s vintage ahead by two weeks after what was expected to be a late start to the season.
Balnaves of Coonawarra viticulturist Peter Balnaves said growing was delayed due to the wet winter and cold climate.
“Now the slightly earlier vintage has allowed us to catch up on the weeks it was delayed due to the cold weather,” Mr Balnves said.
Mr Balnves said the vintage was still around a month away, therefore vignerons had adequate time to prepare.
“The rest of the season will depend on the weather conditions now and in the next month,” Mr Balnaves said.
“This is definitely not the earliest vintage we have had and there never really is a ‘normal’ vintage.”
He said the newly predicted vintage has kept with more traditional timing and will allow for a good season.
“Now we are hoping for warm, neutral weather, not extreme heat, as the vines will begin to shut down when experiencing temperatures over 30 degrees,” Mr Balnaves said.
He also stated it was necessary the vines received substantial quality water during this time.
Mr Balnaves discussed concerns he had with the water allocation plan with state Liberal leader Steven Marshall on his visit to the region last month, requesting he commit to opposing cuts.
This came after Coonawarra vines were affected by potentially devastating frost damage in December.
“Water sprinklers are vital to fixing the problem, for which good quality groundwater is needed,” Mr Balnaves said.
