{"product_id":"2020-shiraz-viognier","title":"2020 Vintage loss","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Clonakilla board has made the painful decision that we will not make wine from any vineyard in New South Wales this year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnalysis of ripening grapes from our estate vineyard in Murrumbateman and the vineyards of our longstanding grape suppliers in the Hilltops Region around the town of Young has revealed unacceptable high levels of smoke taint across all varieties and all vineyard sites.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is important to the Kirk family, to our growers and to the entire Clonakilla team that anyone who purchases our wine can have confidence that the Clonakilla label on a bottle is a guarantee of high quality.  Having experienced a barrage of smoke from fires on every side this summer, that is not a guarantee we can deliver from the 2020 vintage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe want to assure all our friends and supporters that we will not run out of wine.  Being an agricultural business, we know we are entirely dependant on the weather.  Losing a vintage is always a possibility.  We have wines in reserve, stored in our museum cellar in advance for a situation just like this.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 2018 and 2019 vintages in particular delivered many wonderful wines which will find their way on to the market over the next eighteen months.  There will be enough Clonakilla to go around!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe severe drought and unprecedented bush fire emergency has made 2020 the toughest year in living memory for the Australian wine industry and for Australian farming in general.  For Clonakilla the issue is smoke taint.  It affects one vintage only.  Winemaking will resume as normal in 2021.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur hearts go out to growers in wine regions around the country who have suffered more devastating effects from the direct impact of bush fire, notable in the Adelaide Hills and Tumbarumba.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTim Kirk\u003cbr\u003eChief Winemaker\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Clonakilla","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46687948276029,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0685\/8912\/5949\/files\/CanberraFire_Tharwa_LR.jpg?v=1694507342","url":"https:\/\/clonakilla.com.au\/products\/2020-shiraz-viognier","provider":"Clonakilla","version":"1.0","type":"link"}