Wine growers report solid yields after years of heavy rain

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The wine harvest is starting to wrap up across NSW and growers are jumping for joy. After years of poor picking caused by heavy rainfall, the industry is now reporting high quality yields.

Transcript

00:00 Bruno Brumbull's winery near Griffith in the Riverina has been pushed to the brink in recent

00:07 years.

00:08 Record rainfall damaged his grapes, costing him tens of thousands of dollars.

00:13 But this harvest couldn't have been better.

00:16 He's seen a 50% increase in yields this season.

00:19 Really been good growing season in the 30s and it's been a fantastic year for grape

00:23 growing.

00:24 At Orange in the state's central west, growers will continue picking for a number of weeks.

00:29 And it's already proving to be fruitful.

00:32 From lower altitudes to higher altitudes, across all different varieties, we're all

00:36 really excited about what this vintage is going to bring.

00:40 It's a stark turnaround after the last few years.

00:43 In 2021, China imposed trade tariffs on Australian wine, leading to a glut of more than two billion

00:49 litres.

00:52 It saw prices plunge to record lows of $150 a tonne for red wine growers.

00:58 We need to probably lose 25% of our wine grapes in Australia to sort of go back to a balance.

01:03 The federal trade minister will soon meet with his Chinese counterpart in the shore

01:07 sign yet that the trade ban could be lifted in March.

01:11 It would mean the majority of this vintage will be on its way to Asia.

01:14 It could mean up to a 20% increase in sales, which would be very handy right at the moment.

01:21 Vignerons like Bruce Tyrrell say if the ban isn't lifted, growers may have to start ripping

01:25 out their vines.

01:27 If they don't start buying again, then there's probably massive restructure for the Australian

01:31 wine industry.

01:34 An industry with its future hanging in the balance.

01:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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