After the horror vintage of 2007, this year's vintage looks to be much better.

Most vineyards were frost free during spring. There were few major fires near wine regions to create smoke taint. Many areas are still short of water, either from local sources or because water is restricted in major irrigation schemes.

A late problem for some vineyards was a prolonged heat wave in early March, particularly in South Australia and some parts of Victoria. This caused grapes to shrivel on the vine, and probably has had a deleterious effect in a few areas, particularly for late maturing varieties.

Overall the vintage seems to have been benign, and reports from around the country are in some contrast to what we saw last year. Once again vintage seems to have been much earlier than in previous years

So much for the overall situation, what about the finer details. How has your favourite winery fared this year?

Vinodiversity readers, especially winemakers are invited to let us know how the 2008 Vintage looks from their point of view.

Winemakers comments on the 2008 vinatge

The 2008 vintage was anticipated to be a rebound from the problems of 2007. Most Australian wine regions areas enjoyed favourable conditions for most of the year, but prolonged heat in March over much of Eastern Australia caused some problems.

Click below to see vintage reports from other visitors to this page...

2008 Vintage at Amietta in the Geelong Region 
Vintage 2008 at Amietta Vineyard

If you ever ask a grape-growing winemaker how they determine when they’re going to pick their fruit, they’ll probably ...

Vincognita Wines vintage report 2008 
2008 Vintage by Vincognita at Nangkita Vineyards, Southern Fleurieu & McLaren Vale SA.

Another relatively dry winter at Nangkita still gave sufficient ...

Vintage 2008 report from Lazy Ballerina, McLaren Vale 
No time to be Lazy at Lazy Ballerina Wines

In the McLaren Vale region of South Australia the general trend has been for earlier, hotter and shorter ...