Australian winemakers will be making the most of an unseasonably early harvest to get a head start on their international competitors, with wines set to hit shelves up to a month earlier than usual.
Andrew Margan, winemaker and founder of the Hunter Valley's Margan Wines, said it started picking grapes weeks ago, the earliest he has picked in his 36 years of experience.
''We had a mild winter, a dry October, and we haven't had much rain in the last six weeks,'' he said. ''Usually it rains heavily here, which can damage the grapes and delay harvest, so we're lucky this year.''
He said the early start would give them a competitive advantage. ''We've already finished picking our white grapes, and have just started our reds, so we'll have the wines out much earlier than other regions,'' he said. ''We'll have a head start, particularly for the early drinking style wines like rosé´. We should be able to get those wines into the northern hemisphere markets for their season in the same year. No other Australian region will be able to do it.''
Mr Margan said the quality of the wines would be stronger than usual.
''The early harvest is good. When the grapes ripen quickly, it tends to make better wines, and the warm weather has meant the ripening has happened evenly. There's no doubt the average wine consumer is knowledgeable, and they will be able to tell that we've had a good vintage.''
Gus Maher, from the Hunter Valley Wine and Tourism Association, said wineries were embracing their early harvest, and it was undoubtedly a saving grace for the region, which has been struggling.
''The appreciation of the Australian dollar a while back did hurt our export numbers, and our traditional markets of the UK and US decreased significantly,'' he said. ''But since the dollar has weakened, our wineries have been able to embrace the Asian market. Our exports will hopefully increase exponentially this year.''
According to Wine Australia, total Australian wine exports declined by 6 per cent to $1.76 billion last year. However, the average value of exports increased in Canada, the US and the UK.
Wine Australia's acting chief executive, Andreas Clark, said the performance of Australian wine exports showed the environment for wine exporters was challenging and promising. ''Last year, performances varied for exporters within markets,'' he said. ''But Australia remains well-placed in China, second behind France, and is achieving the highest average value among the top 10 importing countries.''
Wines from the Hunter Valley will feature in the NSW Food and Wine Festival, which celebrates fine produce, wine and wine regions.
Festival director Joanna Savill said the Hunter Valley would play a big role at the Sydney Cellar Door event from February 21 to 23, in which wineries from different regions of NSW showcased their best wines. ''This is a really lovely opportunity to taste and experience the regional differences in our local wines,'' she said.
The Sydney Morning Herald NSW Food and Wine Festival, presented by Citi, will run throughout Sydney and regional NSW from February 21 to March 21.