My wine sources have recently told me that due to the bush fires in Australia, the United States will see a shortage of Australian wine next year. Not only am I sad that millions of acres and lives have been lost as a result of these tragic fires, I fear for Australia’s wine industry.
Unfortunately, the United States will see higher Australian wine prices next year (due to decreased wine production in Australia). Not all wine regions in Australia will be affected (Western Australia has been saved) so it’s not entirely a hopeless cause.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of Australian Shiraz and I have a feeling next year I will have to decrease my Australian wine intake (I’d better stock up now). Also, I live in California and I may be facing a huge wine tax within the next year. I really think I need to start building my wine cellar and start filling it fast! Drink that Australian wine while you can, fellow wine guzzlers!
Hi Therese, I am Rainer and have a vineyard in Glenburn (near Kinglake) just over the ridge to the Yarra Valley in Victoria. Our house and vineyard was saved from the flames. But overall the impact of the fires on the Australian wine industry will be negligible. Don’t worry. of the 3000 ha under vines in the Yarra Valley, only 80 ha were destroyed (that’s 3% of the total). One winery was lost (Roundstone Estate). Of course vintage will see less fruit being harvested this year. But even if that is sizeable, many cellars are still full with earlier vintage wines. The devastation of the wildfires is elsewhere (I guess that about 300 people lost their life and 1100 houses were destroyed). We will move on and rebuilt, we are battlers. Cheers Rainer