Grape growers in SA's renowned wine region counting losses from frosts

Night after night of freezing temperatures is damaging winegrapes in some of Australia's biggest growing regions.

Transcript

00:00I'm standing in the vineyard owned by fifth generation Barossa Valley grape grower Adrian

00:06Hoffman and he's just one of many producers in the region who have been battling to avoid

00:11major losses to their crops following severe frost which has swept across the state in

00:16recent days. Mr Hoffman says it's hard to estimate exactly how much crop he has lost

00:22over the past few days and says damage across the region can vary from vineyard to vineyard

00:27but he says the frost comes at a crucial time when new growth from the vines approaches

00:31flowering and the combination of a dry winter and early bud burst has left many grape varieties

00:37especially vulnerable and the ABC understands that some of the crops hit by the cold front

00:43have been wiped out altogether for this year's season. Overnight freezing temperatures have

00:48been hitting large parts of the country with the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Riverland

00:52just some of the regions affected here in South Australia. Temperatures dipped as low

00:57as minus four degrees Celsius in the Barossa yesterday morning and today it's been as low

01:02as minus two degrees. The Weather Bureau also says that Adelaide recorded its coldest September

01:08temperature on record this morning with a low of 1.3 degrees in the city. In the meantime

01:14though producers like Mr Hoffman are just hoping for some relief from the frosty conditions

01:19and fortunately it does look like some rain is forecast for later in the week which will

01:24hopefully prevent more damage to vineyards like this one.