VINEYARDS in the Hunter Valley are still expecting good quality wine from this year’s vintage despite this week’s constant rain.

As long as it stays fine, fruit at most vineyards should ripen well, according to viticultural consultant Liz Riley.

Ms Riley said some crops may be affected, but most of the industry would carry on as normal.

“There’s some fruit that’s in jeopardy but it’s not like we’ve got a write off,” she said.

“Water uptake slows ripening, diluting the sugar that’s already in the fruit, and in some cases you’ll get fruit splitting, depending on how much rain you get.

”We very rarely have a easy season and I think the bulk of the fruit will still be good.”

Ms Riley said some vineyards which have been flooded could have disease issues from higher humidity levels.

“Prior to Christmas a lot of us were fungiciding for whites with a view to do a red spray between Christmas and the new year, but given the rain before Christmas, we had a second spray of fungicide.



“The people who haven’t kept on top the fungicide risks have got a greater chance of the crop falling over.”



NSW Wine Industry Association president Tom Ward said winemakers wouldn’t know the full extent of any damage until the fruit was off the vine, but he was confident there wouldn’t be too many issues.

“The Hunter has some of the most skilled winemakers in Australia,” he said.

“There have still been good wines made from challenging seasons.”

Mr Ward said while tourism would be impacted immediately, it expected the industry to bounce back quickly.



“We had the floods last year but some wineries still reported record numbers through their cellar doors.”