2010 Vintage Report
Date: Saturday 14th August 2010
Category: Tiger Ranch Vineyards
What promised so much leading up to vintage, with the first commercial quantities of Pinot Noir from Tiger Ranch, and a steady healthy crop at Eugenana and Lake Barrington View vineyards was destroyed in a matter of days when European Wasps literally destroyed approximately 6 to 8 tonnes of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at Tiger Ranch and Eugenana in just four (4) days. Many of you may have seen reports of major losses on the Tamar and other areas of the state, this was total and complete destruction.
The irony is that less than two weeks later I returned home to find a representative of the fox task force walking his dog on my property, claiming a scat had been found on a neighbouring property ("Poppycock"). My neighbours have fowl, had ewes lambing and a fox would not have stopped "for a single courtesy dump" on the way through and not sampled from the menu. I also question how one scat was found amongst the myriad of wallaby, possom, sheep, dog and other common inhabitants of the farming community (Talk about a needle in a hay stack). I have no objection to the ranger walking his dog being paid to make sure foxes are not here; but there is no concrete evidence they are, personally I would like to see the money spent on Thylacine research; but and there is a bigger BUT.
I suggested to the fox ranger that the tasforrce was a scam, and they would be better served eradicating "Richmond supporters", but he didn't see the connection of the "black and gold".
We do know that wasps are here, we do know that there is an endemic problemm this is our first total crop loss, but not the first that has been significantly effected. Wine brings valuable income to the state in form of income to private enterprise and the states tourism industry. The money spent or allocated on chasing fox "ghosts" would have provided for enough baits to help protect every effected vineyard in Tasmania last season. It is about time that the State Government prioritised their policy spending to protect an industry that for its size has world wide visibility, recognition and appeal and allocated resources commensurate with the magnittude and substantited evidence of an existing and controllable problem.
This vintage will provide Zero income for Tiger Ranch wines, and potentially one full time and a couple of part time positions!
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