Bushfires: Grapegrowers plead for research funds before vintage goes up in smoke

Vignerons in fire-affected wine regions are seeking ­urgent information about potential crop losses worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Arnie Pizzini at his vineyard in the King Valley. Picture: Aaron Francis

The future of a crucial research project giving grapegrowers early warning about smoke taint is uncertain, with Victorian funding yet to be renewed as vignerons in fire-affected wine regions up and down the Great Dividing Range seek ­urgent information about potential crop losses worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

While the full impact of smoke generated by southeastern Australia’s horror fire season will not be known until after grapes colour in coming weeks, some growers in proximity to bushfires have already made the heartbreaking decision not to harvest this year.

As part of research led by the federal government’s R&D for Profit Project, with co-funding from Wine Australia, the Victorian government, the Australian Wine Research Institute and La Trobe University, a team has placed monitoring stations across bushfire-affected regions.

The stations are being used to predict smoke damage to grapes and wine as soon as possible throughout a growing season.

The NSW government requested the team’s help for the Hunter Valley region, affected by fires since October, and the data is providing critical information to assist growers to decide whether to continue to invest in growing and harvesting their grapes.

However, funding for the project expired in December, with multiple sources saying assurances are yet to be given on whether the Victorian government’s contribution will be renewed.

Grapegrowers in northeast Victoria will next week meet at Brown Brothers’ Milawa vineyard to hear from La Trobe University professor Ian Porter and AWRI industry development manager Con Simos about smoke taint.

Professor Porter and an Agriculture Victoria team will provide current smoke concentration figures collected from nine automated sensing devices researchers have placed around the region.

Agriculture Victoria figures show smoke taint cost the state’s wine industry $100m in 2009, and has caused multimillion-dollar losses in other years, including 2003 and 2007.

Viticulturist Mark Walpole, who experienced fires in 2003, 2007 and 2009, said researchers had placed smoke-monitoring systems in his vineyards at Beechworth and Whorouly in previous years. “We’ve learned a lot about the impact of smoke. The thing we really don’t know quite so much about is the timing,” he said.

“We know from the fires in ’03 and ’07 they just went for weeks and weeks, and the amount of smoke we’ve received this year is significantly more.

“It’s pretty important to still have these monitoring stations out there so we can get real data and determine whether we continue to invest in the crop or abandon it.”

The family’s 18ha Whorouly vineyard was subject to evacuation orders last week, spot fires coming within kilometres of it.

The former Brown Brothers chief viticulturist said drinking smoke-tainted wine was “like drinking out of an ashtray” but consumers could be confident that reputable wineries would not bottle smoke-tainted wine. King Valley grapegrower Arnie Pizzini said Professor Porter had stationed smoke-detection equipment at his 100ha Chrismont vineyard. “We’re optimistic we’ll be OK with the smoke until research and scientific analysis tell us otherwise. It is very important to have data to be able to make decisions.”

Wine Australia research and development program manager Sharon Harvey said it was crucial to maintain the capability to carry out smoke testing. A spokesman for the Andrews government said it was working closely with Wine Victoria, the AWRI and other organisations to deliver support to wine regions affected by the bushfires. “Although this specific project has been completed, Agriculture Victoria continues research projects in the industry and retains smoke-taint testing capabilities which can be used to support bushfire response.”