Queensland wine shortage flagged after bad weather damages vineyards
1. Queensland wine shortage flagged after bad weather
damages vineyards
By Alyse Edwards
Posted April 30, 2015 15:44:21
Grape growers in southern Queensland have wrapped up a season blighted by bad weather which
has damaged up to 90 per cent of some crops.
Hail and storms ravaged many vineyards in the usually prosperous Granite Belt and Mount
Tamborine regions in the state's south, which is expected to lead to a shortage of Queensland wines
in two years' time.
Angelo Puglisi, from Ballandean Estate Wines, said his crop on the Granite Belt was one of the worst
affected.
On Christmas eve one of his vineyards was hit by hail, damaging 90 per cent of the crop.
That particular vineyard normally yields between 120 to 130 tonnes of grapes, but only about six
tonnes has been salvaged.
"It was a bad Christmas present to get," he said.
To worsen the situation, weeks of wet weather pushed the harvest back later than usual, meaning
that some of the remaining crop has over ripened on the vine.
"After three days of rain, the fruit was getting a lot of mould on it and we had to harvest."
The Granite Belt is not the only region to suffer.
Vineyards closer to the coast, near Mount Tamborine, also reported losses of up to 50 per cent.
Less wine from the region will be made this year which will lead to a shortage on the shelves in
about two years' time.
Leeanne Puglisi Gangemi, also from Ballandean Estate Wines, said it may affect their wholesale
customers.
"We will be running out of some wines, mostly red wines," she said.
"So our customers may miss out on some of their favourites but it will be a little while coming so
they'll be well prepared for it."
2. Sales at the cellar door will sustain the business.
The wine glut across Australia has allowed her family to bottle extra wine during the good seasons,
so there will be enough to sell to the thousands of tourists who travel to their winery every year.
"Tourism seems to be growing and we're very excited by that," she said.
"We've got to come up with reasons for people
to come back to the Granite Belt and keep
visiting us.
"As far as we're concerned it's certainly a
growth industry."
Despite the unpredictability of the job, Angelo
Puglisi will not be walking away any time soon.
"What else am I going to do with my life? he
said.
"I love what I'm doing - lose a crop, well, we wait until next year."
Topics: rural, rural-tourism, agribusiness, viticulture, weather, small-business, ballandean-4382,
mount-tamborine-4272, toowoomba-4350
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-30/queensland-wine-shortage-flagged-after-bad-weather/64191
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