Hunter Valley vineyards received a welcome drink over the weekend, with the first amount of good rainfall in the area since January.
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Tyrrells Wines managing director Bruce Tyrrell AM said the 65mm of rain the winery received was wonderful.
While the vines are currently dormant and will remain so until the end of July, Mr Tyrrell said the rain settled the dust and put moisture into the soil.
He said this would allow the 2017 vintage to get off to a good start when the grape growing process begins.
De Iuliis Wines managing director Mike De Iuliis said his vineyard received about 85mm of rain.
Mr De Iuliis said it was good to see a few days of steady rainfall after a considerably dry autumn.
De Iuliis are about to set a cover crop, which involves planting organic material such as legumes, oats and seeds, to help the soil when grape growing begins.
Vineyards are now at the stage of pruning the vines ahead of grape growing and spraying.
Weather predictions for the next vintage look favourable, with an expected wet winter and spring followed by a dry summer.
Vignerons are crossing their fingers that these predictions stay true.
“If that happens we’ll all be dancing around the paddocks in the moonlight with a bottle of red in one hand and a bottle of white in the other,” Mr Tyrrell said.
Check out the storm photos from across the state here
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
