Grim outlook for Riverina winemakers amid soggy vineyards and diseased grapes

"Who is going to buy a wine farm that will have no income for the next 12 months?"

This is the problem plaguing wine growers in the South New Zealand South Wales, according to Bruno Brombal, who says that even if winemakers wanted to leave the industry, it would be a tough sell.

Key points: Rain and flooding from the end of 2022 are impacting the upcoming vintage for many winemakersSome winemakers have lost their entire harvest and will have no income for 12 months and Victoria have been hit by rain or flooded when they should be preparing to harvest their fruits.

"Some farmers have lost the whole farm, while others have losses of 35 to 50 percent in some places," said Mr. Brombal, president of Riverina Winegrape Growers (RWG).

"We are happy to see the good weather coming, but the damage has been been caused where the water sat for weeks and weeks.

"A lot of these crops have been destroyed and a lot of mildew has come through it and they won't harvest these blocks."

The damage occurred at a critical time when the grapes were flowering.

"They were protected until they start to bloom, [but] once the flower started to open and the little berry started to come out, it was unprotected, and then we had a few days of wet weather and that is when a lot of them were wiped out,” Brombal said.

Bruno Brombal says some growers lost more d a third of their grapes. (Supplied: Jeremy Cass, RWG)

Illness and Delays

Mr. Brombal said growers are now working to salvage rain-affected grapes.

"Mildew is holding but the next step is to tackle powdery mildew which appears to be present on a few of the chardonnays," he said.

"So we just got rid of one disease and now we have another."

Mr. Brombal said the vintage was about three weeks late for most Riverina growers.

"We will probably start harvesting in the second week of February this year, which is late," he said.

"We usually start after the January long weekend, but that won't happen this year."

Constant rains have created ideal conditions for late blight in vineyards in NSW, SA and Victoria.(Supplied)