Hunter Valley winemakers have been battling to get the last of their grapes off the vine after a heat wave threatened to impact the quality of the fruit. After a turbulent start to harvest with consistently wet weather, Hunter vignerons have finally wrapped up their annual pick. There was concern heavy rain in January would wipe out much of the vintage, but a spike in temperatures in February allowed some last minute ripening of the grapes.

Wine grape harvest contractors are feeling the pinch of an exodus of growers from the industry. Grapegrower and contractor Louise Belej said so many growers in the Murray Valley had left the industry her client base had dropped from 125 to around 10 grape producers. She said growers in the region were barely breaking even and some won’t be able to pay their contractors.