Adelaide Hills wineries count the cost of bushfires

In a cruel joke by mother nature some of the best wine growing regions are in the parts of the country most likely to catch fire.

A fire-ravaged vineyard near Charleston, Adelaide Hills. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

It is a twist of fate, or perhaps a cruel joke by mother nature, that some of the best wine growing regions in Australia are directly in the parts of the country most likely to catch fire.

This was made plain this week when bushfires in the Adelaide Hills swept through some of the most valuable and diverse vineyards in Australia, wiping out many smaller family-owned wineries and also turning into scorched earth the Lenswood vineyard owned by Henschke, the producer of Hill of Grace, one of the nation’s most expensive wines.

While the Hill of Grace vineyards in Eden Valley were thankfully untouched, thousands of vines throughout the Adelaide Hills were scorched by the heat and fire into ash and black carbon dust.

From a genetic diversity standpoint, a number of vine varieties were also consumed by the fires with Henschke saying that early reports from Lenswood indicated probably all of its riesling, chardonnay, gruner veltliner, pinot noir, merlot, cabernet, sauvignon blanc and gewurztraminer had been destroyed. The fires had also engulfed historic pinot noir vines planted in 1983.

Then there is the economic impact. The region generates about $22m worth of wine exports a year (Australian wine exports total roughly $3bn) and millions more in tourism. According to Wine Australia, it is the eighth most popular domestic tourist destination among Australia’s wineries and seventh most popular for international tourists.

Destroyed property near Lobethal, Adelaide Hills. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“The thing with the Adelaide Hills is that it has really come into its own in the last five to seven years. I think it is has been a great melting pot of some established traditional producers and a new wave of producers who are prepared to do different things,’’ Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark told The Weekend Australian.

“It has a very eclectic mix of varieties so it has been a real point of interest for the global wine trade. What has been happening in the Adelaide Hills and the vibrancy of that region was very apparent to me when I was at the Adelaide Hills wine show lunch only about three weeks ago.

“A record number of entrants in that, and a real sense of community that sits up in those hills.”

The Adelaide Hills, relatively small in size, boasts almost 100 wineries and 50 cellar doors, producing large quantity commercial wine down to artesian batches of organic wines.

Mr Clark said it was “very early days” to assess the wine and economic impact of the fires.

“In the long term, it is a resilient community that will band together. That is already happening. They support each other and help each other get back on their feet and get them back as part of that community again.’’

This comes at a time when, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, alcohol consumption per capita is for Australians at 50-year lows with the largest decline in consumption taking place among people aged 18-24 who are drinking far less than any generation before them.

Although the low Australian dollar is proving to be a spectacular boost to exports.

Treasury Wine Estates, the world’s biggest winemakers, has numerous vineyards spread through the region and also sources grapes from vineyards.

Prue and Stephen Henschke at their winery at Keyneton, Eden Valley. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“Treasury Wine has fortunately experienced no direct property damage from the fires in the Adelaide Hills region,’’ a company spokeswoman said.

“There will be some loss of fruit sourced from growers which we are still assessing, but which is not significant in the context of the loss suffered by other wineries and vineyards in the region.

“We are taking action to provide support where we can to growers who have been affected.”

Winemakers Federation chief executive Tony Battaglene said many vineyards in the Adelaide Hills have been wiped out and others badly damaged.

“The Adelaide Hills is a fairly small component of the wine industry in volume terms, but of course the quality is really good there and we have some really high quality brands from Petaluma, Bird in Hand and the like. There is considerable damage and will create some cashflow problems for these wineries.

“The other thing is that, when these fires come through, from the tourism perspective, the countryside doesn’t look as good, and you have a long-term impact on the whole region. It will take a few years to recover unfortunately,’’ Mr Battaglene said.

This is compounded by the long lead times between planting vineyards and turning that into quality wine. “So from planting the vine it takes three or four years before it gives fruit that can be harvested. Then it takes a while to get to full production levels. It is a long term recovery process and if you have no other income it will be devastating for these family businesses.’’