2020- Three Strikes and NOT out!

The story line is so unpredictable.

I have always reminded myself it is a privilege to work in the wine industry and it is a luxury product at the end of the day. Personally, I also think, it is a necessity and one that we here in Australia can and do accomplish incredibly well. 

Normally in a game of baseball, it's three strikes and you're out.

The summer bush fires that saw anguish around the country are still very relevant and the effect on the 2020 harvest is still being managed and understood. Micro-ferments in wineries for smoke taint research and webinars on opportunities for the potential of unpicked crops to feed livestock are forming part of the strategies. 

The second strike this year of extremely low yields for the harvest due to the poor fruit set back in the springtime, has meant some winemakers can not make wine this year as there are no grapes available to them. The silver lining is the small quantity of grapes for the 2020 vintage, appear to be of super quality. So although it will be a small production year, it will be worth keeping an eye out for the vintage release. It feels like a ghost vintage.

The last strike for me is the COVID-19 Virus. I remember at the start of the year looking forward to the market events in the coming months, where meeting customers direct and selling bottles of fizz are a highlight of my business. Never in a million years, did I expect not to be able to do this.

Along with so many other businesses, livelihoods and the way of life impacted and constantly changing, it is hard to imagine the future. Descriptions of apocalyptic and Armageddon- are hard to explain to children let alone wrap our heads around what is the imposing reality. However, we know the story telling always ends with the 'good' prevailing, and it will in this case too. We really do live in a 'lucky' country. 

2020, may not have started as the year of blessings we had hoped for, but it will be known as the year of so many lessons. One thing to come from these disastrous events is in the gratitude we still have each other, the availability of healthy food and of course beautiful Australian wine! We are definitely NOT out!