Tomich Wines overwhelmed by community support for rebuild after Hills fire

Tomich says working bees attended by hundreds of people have helped get the Adelaide Hills winery get back on its feet after the devastating inferno in December.

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RANDAL Tomich was devastated to return to Woodside and find about half of his vineyard burned in the Adelaide Hills inferno – but overwhelming community support is buoying his spirits.

Tomich has held a series of working bees since the December 19 blaze, with over 150 people turning out at some of the events to remove vines, repair irrigation systems and clean up debris.

“The amazing thing was only about 10 per cent of the people knew us – they were all just people who saw it on Facebook and wanted to come and help,” the company’s chief executive says.

“It’s been fantastic how many of those groups and charities we’ve supported over the years are now coming back and supporting us. It’s really heart-warming and it’s been really hard for me to accept the help.”

Mr Tomich says his 21-year-old son Jack was at the property on the day the fire swept through Woodside, evacuating about midday.

Tomich winemakers Jack Tomich 21, and his grandfather Dr John Tomich at their family’s Woodside winery, which was ravaged by the Cudlee Creek fires in December. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“We’re just fortunate that nobody was injured,” he says.

“I blame myself for not being there.

“But it’s heightened my senses to make sure that the rest of the season goes well. We’re lucky we’ve still got half (of the vines), which will be enough for us to carry on. The fruit looks excellent.”

The company has removed about 10 per cent of its vines and will continue to assess the level of damage to the others which were fire-affected.

Mr Tomich says the winery does not have “peril insurance”, which covers fire, frost and hail damage, because it was virtually impossible to find a local company willing to provide it to vineyards in the Woodside area.

The business’s losses are expected to tally up to about $1 million over two or three years, with just $40,000 of that damage covered by insurance.

Its staff are being trained in how to respond to bushfire threats, including carrying out activities such as ploughing fire breaks, turning on sprinklers and powering on new pumps.

In the coming weeks, the business will start fermentation trials to test for smoke taint – the next major hurdle.

“We’re hoping we’re not affected by smoke taint because the berries were very small when the fire came through,” Mr Tomich says.

“This is crunch time to see whether the remainder of the fruit is viable.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’ve got our fingers crossed.”

The best way for South Australians to help those affected by the Adelaide Hills bushfires was to keep visiting and buying products from the region.

“We’ve had a great response from retailers and it’s terrific to see the industry pulling together. “Everybody has been pushing the Adelaide Hills, which has been terrific.”