Wet weather over recent weeks looks to have delayed the start of the Hunter Valley’s grape harvest.
Some vignerons were hoping to begin their vintage next week but rain has slowed the final ripening of fruit. The harvest usually lasts about six weeks beginning with white varieties including Semillon and chardonnay, before ending in February with the reds. Hunter winemaker Andrew Margan said recent rain has had an impact.

More than a million litres of wine was drained from tanks at a Riverland winery earlier this week, sparking a plea for help from the public. Police believe the property damage occurred at the Monash winery in South Australia sometime between 3:00pm on December 28 and 9:00am the following morning. About 1.2 million litres of wine was drained from four separate tanks.