Up to 90% of the 2020 vintage will not make it to bottle due to smoke tainted grapes caused by the catastrophic bushfire season.
The Government has announced a $75,000 emergency grant for agriculture damaged by the bushfires, but smoke-taint will probably be excluded from the damage criteria,” said Mr Fitzgibbon.
This will be another devastating blow for the region which heavily relies on wine and tourism. The bushfire season seen many tourists stay away from the Hunter Valley due to bushfires in the peak season and now we’re learning that up to 90% of the crops are ruined by smoke.
The NSW Minister for Agriculture had indicated that smoke-taint would not be covered in the grants criteria which suggested other states would also exclude it. Said Joel Fitzgibbon
Joel Fitzgibbon
Joel Fitzgibbon is calling for the minster to clarify the criteria and to ensure to include smoke taint losses as agricultural damage. Wine is a $3 billion export business for Australia, and our viticulture areas support major tourism industries.”
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