DAN’S WINE BLOG- DARK DAYS

DAN’S WINE BLOG- DARK DAYS

2024-07-05

This week is a bad news week around the wine globe- here are a few snippets you may have missed.

SHRINKING!

The OIV reported that the world’s vineyards decreased by around 36,000 hectares (ha) (about the same as the total area planted in NSW) in 2023, down to 7,200,000 ha. That’s a lot of vines being ripped out, even more when you consider that in some parts of the world people are still busy planting.

To put it into context Australia remained steady at just under 160,000 hectares – which is 2.1% of the total global vineyard acreage. We remained constant for 2023 but are odd-on to have a reduction in 2024. The scale and size of this reduction is currently being determined by growers across the land considering whether and what to rip out.

DISASTER- BRAZIL

The Rio Grande do Sul state, which is the capital of Brazil’s small but developing wine growing was smashed by unprecedented floods in late April- early may this year.

The floods covered around 80% of the state, lead to at least 150 deaths and the displacement of nearly 200,000 people. Between the flooding and the considerable landslides that occurred, a considerable proportion of the regions vineyards were destroyed and others damaged beyond repair. This is a significant setback for Brazilian wine producers who already have to battle hard against cheaper wine imports from other South American countries. Brazil is becoming a growing market for other imported wines, with small but increasing opportunities for Australian wines

DISASTER- SPAIN

After three years of well below average rainfall much of the Iberian peninsula is struggling to keep it vines producing and in some cases they are dying of thirst. Whilst things are bad in France’s Languedoc- Roussillon region, in Catalunya (Spain) they have reached catastrophic levels. Barcelona has declared a drought emergency with water reservoirs down to as little as 16% of capacity. Not only are vines dying, but forests as well have started to die off due to the lack of rainwater.

As a country Spain is down to less than half its water resources making this drought one of the world’s 10 most costly weather events/ climate disasters.

Production of the grape varieties #parellada and #macabeu- which are key components of Spain’s Cava (sparkling wine) plunged by 60% in 2023 with the other main variety #Xarelo down by around 45-50%.

Things have gotten so bad with the production of Cava that the giant Frexienet Wine company- the world renowned and largest sparkling wine producer in Spain has asked the government for approval to put its staff on short hours due to being unable to produce enough bubbles to meet the demand. Well on that gloomy note I will say ciao for another week and hopefully have happier/better thing to write about next week.

In the meantime have a great week, stay safe, always #chooseaustralianwine and when possible enjoy #emergingvarieties

STOP PRESS-

Adelaide Hills Wine Region is holding its annual “Winter Reds” festival on from Friday the 26th of July to Sunday the 28th. The festival has a number of events from tastings to lunches and masterclasses. There are transport options including buses from the city so that one does not need a “designated driver”.

Full details and bookings for Winter Red events is at www.adelaidehillswine.com.au or www.winterreds.com.au

Cheers Dan T

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