Tallis Wines in the Goulburn Valley

by Tallis Vineyards
(Goulburn Valley)

Winemakers Richard Tallis and Tanya Blackmore inspecting the damage

Heat effects ripening grapes at Tallis Vineyard in the Goulburn Valley.

When we inspected the grapes in our smoke filled vineyard early in February we discovered that the heatwave that brought blistering temperatures over most of Victoria had also scorched our grapes and vine canopy beyond belief.

While we continue to assess the damage to our grapes we will make preparations to harvest the tiny amount of fruit which has remained unscathed by the intense heat. Our winemaker Richard Tallis estimates that more that 80% of the grapes have been lost, with the Cabernet Sauvignon looking the best due to being a later ripening variety.

All of our grapes will be hand harvested this year to ensure the quality of our grapes and the integrity of the wines produced. We will hand select the unscathed bunches and leave the majority of the grapes on the vine.

Our winemaking philosophy to produce and release wines only of the highest quality remains firm so this year we will produce just a tiny batch of each wine. We will continue to assess the wine throughout the production process to ensure that the wine we do release to our customers fits within our brand quality parameters.

Tallis Wines at Dookie in Victoria's Goulburn Valley has 24ha of vines including shiraz, cabernet, viognier, sangiovese, barbera, nebbiolo and merlot.