By JESSE GRAHAM
THE YARRA Valley’s wine industry representatives tried to clear the air with the government on planned burns last week, raising concerns of devastating smoke damage to the region’s wines.
Prominent winemakers and industry representatives met with Victorian Opposition Leader, Matthew Guy, Eildon MP, Cindy McLeish and Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe last week to try and campaign for a change to planned burning schedules.
The issue with the burns, according to the winemakers, is that Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) planned burning and VicForests’ coupe regeneration burns during the key wine-growing and harvesting season results in smoke tainting wine grapes.
Wine Yarra Valley CEO, Richard Howden, told the politicians that there needed to be more flexibility with planned burns, to avoid damage to wineries.
“There seems to be little flexibility and it’s the most sensitive time for us,” he said.
The smoke taint cannot be detected without intensive tests on the fruit or until the wine is produced, by which time wineries could be hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket.
Ms Fyffe, who has an extensive background in winemaking, said that smoke taint could “destroy a label completely” if a tainted wine was sold to the public.
Pointing to burns conducted last week that left Healesville shrouded in smoke, the winemakers said the impact on tourism and the wine industry was potentially devastating.
Mr Guy appeared sympathetic to the winemakers’ concerns and said at the meeting that the current burning schedule seemed “insensitive” to wineries and to tourists visiting the area around Easter.
“Insensitive is probably the most polite way of putting it,” he said.
He said that all burns should be halted for a week on either side of the Easter long weekend, to minimise the smoke deterring tourists or blanketing the region.
Environment, Climate Change and Water Minister, Lisa Neville, told the Mail that a balance needed to be struck between the burns and the wine industry.
“Ultimately, these decisions aren’t made by politicians, but are made by the Chief Fire Officers who assess the risk, current weather conditions and the need for them to occur,” she said.
“I’ve asked the department to work with the wine industry to reduce impacts of smoke on the industry and we will continue these discussions with the industry.”
In response to questions from the Mail, DELWP and VicForests issued a joint statement and said the best conditions for burning tended to be in autumn – when wine grapes ripened and were due to be harvested.
“DELWP is committed to engaging with vignerons regarding their harvest periods and, whenever possible, will try to incorporate this into their burning scheduling,” the statement said.
Environmental groups have also raised concerns about the smoke caused by planned burns. For the full story, see next week’s Mail.
