The grape harvest is about three weeks behind schedule this year due to an extended winter that slowed growth last year.
While wineries had been receiving grapes for about two weeks, vintage was a whopping 125,000 tonnes behind this time last year, with only 11,000 tonnes picked so far.
Wine Grapes Marketing Board chairman Bruno Brombal said a lot of varieties still hadn’t reached the right sugar content, but the quality of the fruit was very good.
“It’s slow ripening, but excellent,” Mr Brombal said. “What comes out the other end will be very good wine, although with a low dollar and strong export market I thought prices might be higher.”
Prices are slightly up on previous years, but many growers are particularly concerned about being out of pocket if the weather turns after some tough years.
