It looks like 2016 vintage is starting early this year. According to ABC Rural, due to the hot and dry weather, everything seems to have ripened early. On top of that, the 2016 vintage is shaping up to be a great one.
Adelaide Hills
Tom Keelan – President of the Adelaide Hills Wine region has summed up that 2016 vintage is going to be sensational in the hills, largely due to the dry weather that helped shape up a great vintage.
Coonawarra
Continuous drought conditions did not affect grape growers, in fact, Bryan Tonkin – Winemaker at DiGiorgio Wines said the dry weather would help produce intense and concentrated flavours in 2016 crop. He also mentioned Chardonnay will be quite intense in 2016 vintage, and that will allow winemakers to have a wide range of options – from sparkling bases through to heavily oaked chardonnays.
Clare Valley
This year, harvesting will be exceptionally early for Clare Valley, grapes will be ready by the end of January. Due to the hot and dry conditions, the grapes have become softer and have developed more sugar.
Barossa Valley
The same optimism is shared across Barossa Valley. James March, the Chief Executive of the Barossa Grape & Wine Association, said the quality of 2016 vintage is looking good, flavour is coming up well and bunch sizes are great.
To sum up, the optimal conditions in South Australia are giving us hope of 2016 vintage being highly regarded.
Information adapted from ABC Rural & The Sydney Morning Herald