Yeasties fans, you have been warned

AS self-appointed unofficial manager of wine industry band the Yeastie Boys I feel terrible I didn't alert you to the lads' recent tour.

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AS self-appointed unofficial manager of the wine industry's rock 'n' roll all-star band the Yeastie Boys, I feel terrible I didn't alert you to the lads' recent South Australian tour. It took place, um, last week. okay. My bad. But what're they gonna do? Sack me?

You remember the Yeasties. I've written about them before. A collection of winemakers and viticulturists from Victoria's Yarra Valley: lead singer and axe hero Paul Bridgeman; enigmatic bass player Bill Downie; gee-tar prodigy Mark O'Callaghan; and wine's answer to Keith Moon, Stuart Proud.

The Yeasties, below, formed about six years ago. At the time, the Yarra Valley had just heard the news all wine regions dread: the vine aphid, phylloxera, had been discovered for the first time in one of the region's vineyards. A sap-sucking insect, phylloxera can severely reduce the vigour of a vine, eventually killing it. Needless to say, it's a nightmare for grape growers. And it's why the Yeastie Boys called one of their first Yarra Valley gigs "Make Phylloxera History".

Fast-forward to last Friday, and the Make Phylloxera History slogan was rolled out again, this time in the South Australian town of Naracoorte, in the heart of that state's Limestone Coast wine zone, at the gateway to Wrattonbully and Coonawarra. Here, the Yeastie Boys played their strangest venue to date: the Naracoorte Heat Shed.

The Heat Shed was built a few years ago by the South Australian Phylloxera Board to treat vineyard machinery such as tractors and harvesters entering the region: the vehicles are locked in the building while it heats up to 40C for two hours, killing any of the sap-sucking aphids that might he lurking in bits of soil or grape vines on tractor tyres.

This precaution is necessary because, remarkably, phylloxera has never been found in South Australian vineyards - despite the fact that it has been present in Victoria since the late 19th century.

"Phylloxera is probably the largest biosecurity threat to our wine industry," says Sue Bell, local Limestone Coast winemaker and member of the regional technical committee. "And because we're the first vineyards you get to this side of the Victorian border, we're at the front line. Every year we put an ad in the paper to remind people about how they can act responsibly to stop the spread of phylloxera. But we've also always joked that we needed to do something a bit louder. So this year we're using rock 'n' roll to help spread the message."

The Yeastie Boys in the Heat Shed. Just imagine: the best Australian wine industry rock 'n' roll cover band in the world and a hundred locals crammed into what is effectively a gigantic plate-warmer.

Hopefully, the band will have recovered in time for their West Australian tour next month. On Thursday November 21, the Yeasties will be playing a Fireys' Fundraiser benefit gig at Settlers Tavern in Margaret River, to support the locals rebuilding after the last round of bushfires. They might play fast and loose, but The Yeastie Boys have got hearts of gold. And this time you can't say I haven't warned you.