Managing a frosted vineyard -current research in cool-climate Tasmania

摘要

It takes years of backbreaking effort to bring a cool-climate vineyard to fruition. Its undoing can take just a single night. Indeed, barely a few minutes' exposure to severe ground or air temperature may cause a vineyard to suffer major vine damage and lose its entire crop. Frost protection has long been on the agenda of Australia's wine companies. Surprisingly, few researchers and viticulturists have paid much attention to properly outlining ways in which frosted coobclimate vineyards in Australiacan be managed effectively during the aftermath of events like those that struck south-eastern States in October 2006. What's worse, says Tolpuddle Vineyard manager Geraldine Colombo, is that moving from warm climate sites on the mainland to the cooler conditions of Tasmania's Coal River Valley can take you well beyond your usual comfort zone. For the former Heathcote vineyard worker, contemplating what to do if a severe frost hit her 20ha home base on the outskirts of Richmond became a unwelcomed reality check when the site experienced losses estimated around 30% following a series of major frost events between 6-22 October 2006.