Wine Spectator: After The Fires, Australian Wineries Assess The Damage

For more than five months, bushfires blazed and smoldered along the southeast coast of Australia, burning millions of acres, destroying thousands of homes, devastating wildlife, and shrouding cities in smoke. The fires took the lives of 34 people.

While the flames are out now, the impact on the Australian wine industry is still being assessed. There are no official figures on the exact acreage of vineyards that have been lost—nor the value to the industry—because vintners must see how vines recover both from the fires and the searing heat over the next year.

What is clear is that most wine regions were largely spared, but there were a few notable exceptions. And the biggest impact of all may be smoke taint. While many winemakers are not sure if their grapes and wine were affected by the smoke, several report that they expect to sell no wines from the 2020 vintage. Wine Spectator has a full report.

Tagged : Australian wildfire, Wine Spectator

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