2005 Vintage

There was a warm start to Spring with no frost damage reported anywhere. The latter half of November and the month of December were miserably cold, (4 degrees below average monthly temperature) drastically affecting crop set with most areas seeing a 50% crop reduction (Average bunch weight at harvest 40 to 60gr, normally 80 to 120gr). January and February were both slightly warmer than average with a mini heat wave for two weeks where temperatures approached 40 C (almost unheard of)! There was more rainfall than average through these months with a shower every couple of weeks lessening the dependence upon irrigation. Autumn brought cool weather and very little rainfall allowing fruit to hang to full ripeness resulting in very low Malic acid levels. A late autumn frost did affect ripening in some parts of central.