Poonawatta Wines at Flaxman Valley in the Eden Valley has been hit hard by frost for the second year in a row.
“Another year of pruning down the toilet,” says Poonawatta owner Andrew Holt.
“The old-timers around the district told us that November 11 was ‘the end’ of the frost season – if you had made it that far, you were safe.
“Thirty minutes into (Wednesday) November 12 our frost fan started and ran for almost seven hours.
“But the air was just too cold, and every block was hit.
“Some patches were severely burnt, other patches just a bit of a touch-up.
“At this stage it looks like 90 percent crop loss in the two old vine Shiraz blocks – around 50 percent in our other red blocks.
“The highest value blocks were hit the hardest… of course.”
The 53-year-old Riesling block sits at the highest point on the property.
It had never been hit by frost – until last year when it was wiped out in mid-September.
“It has been hit again this year,” says Andrew.
“Last year’s frost was early enough for secondary buds to emerge and give us a crop.
“This year, what’s cooked is cooked.”
Andrew says other blocks around the Eden Valley were hit on Wednesday, but it is isolated.
“The temperature zones vary so much,” he says.
“Last night around midnight I was driving the backroads looking for interesting foregrounds to photograph the aurora.
“Temperatures ranged from 14 degrees on top of the range, to four degrees in the low gullies.
“It was five degrees at home – so we are in a cold spot.”
The frost comes on the back of 2025 yields at Poonawatta being hit hard by frost and drought.
Andrew remains philosophical and fully committed to Poonawatta, a five-star winery in the Halliday Wine Companion.
“The reality of small family businesses is that shit happens from time to time, and that is part of the fabric of farming life,” he says.
“Each experience adds another layer – some good, some not so good, some that really suck.
“It’s disappointing – a season lost.
“But there will be another, and another, and another, so we just need to take the hit and move on.
“And enjoy a glass of wine as we contemplate that Mother Nature is our most important business partner.
“She usually gives much more than she takes.”
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