by James Halliday
The Yarra Valley, situated 50 kilometres to the east of Melbourne, was one of Australia´s foremost wine regions in the latter part of the nineteenth century; its main competitor, situated a similar distance to the west of Melbourne,
was Geelong. In both places, most of the vignerons were Swiss, and there was much communication between the two communities. In the 1870s Geelong was attacked by phylloxera, and all of the vines in the region were destroyed by government order. The move was ineffective; phylloxera marched north all the way to the New South Wales border, wreaking havoc in the Rutherglen region around the turn of the century.
For some reason then and now unexplained, the Yarra Valley was not affected by phylloxera. It went out of production in the early 1920s simply because there was no demand for its fine, cool climate wines in a country making, drinking and exporting fortified wines.
Last week, a 130-year calm was rudely shattered with the discovery of phylloxera in a vineyard near Yarra Glen. The vineyard in question is tucked away, with no visitor traffic, but is owned by Fosters. Its viticulturist became concerned about a patch of vines, and using sophisticated airborne imagery, alarm bells rang immediately, and within a matter of days, phylloxera was found to be active in a relatively small portion of the vineyard.
The Victorian Department of Primary Industry, the Victorian Wine Industry Association, Fosters and local vignerons are collaborating in an intensive programme of investigation and consultation. It is expected the DNA of the phylloxera will be determined within a matter of days, and matched with that of phylloxera from other regions in Victoria which have been subject to the disease for decades. Equally importantly, airborne imagery will be taken of vineyards right across the region to determine where else phylloxera may be active.
It is a double blow to a proud and high profile region wracked by unprecedented frosts earlier in the year.
Stringent controls have been in place in Victoria governing the movement of agricultural equipment, planting material, vines and grapes from declared phylloxera areas, and Fosters is known for its strict adherence to those policies. Just how the infection has occurred is at this stage a mystery, but there will doubtless be follow-on reports, full and transparent disclosure being a given.
