Impact of torrential rains in 2011 As we head into summer, the
Southern Hemisphere heads into winter and that means harvest
time for that half of the world. The first place in the south I
like to turn to is Australia because there are so many wines
that are very good and an excellent value. To get harvest news,
the place to go to is the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and
Resource Economics and Sciences. Most people use the acronym
ABARES and I like to say it: "ahh, berries." According to
ABARES, the 2012 harvest is estimated at 1.53 million tons, the
lowest total since 2007's crop of 1.41 million tons. The huge
drop from 2011's harvest is a result of the devastating rains
earlier this year. In late February, heavy rainfall across New
South Wales led to a partial evacuation of the region, with
rising water levels four feet over flood stage and widespread
flooding across some vineyard regions devastating many of the
best grapevines. Some vineyards acted quickly and built levees
to protect the vineyards. Othe