Signs are good for exceptional 2025 vintage in King Valley

WARM days and cool nights in late summer are proving to be ideal conditions for local grape growers, with vintage well underway in the King Valley. In mid-February, Brown Family Wine Group was about 30 per cent through harvest in their North East Victorian vineyards and general manager winemaking and supply chain, Joel Tilbrook, said it had been a really good start to vintage. "We're very happy with the quality," he said. "It's been an early start and reasonably intense in terms of ripening, so we're probably running a week to 10 days ahead this year, compared to the long-term average. "The weather has been relatively warm, the fruit condition is really good and yields are in line with our expectations - we're very happy with the way it's coming off so far." Mr Tilbrook said the optimum conditions - warm days followed by cools nights - were good for all varieties, giving fruit time to ripen completely without ripening too quickly. He said warm nights, which accelerated ripening, could cause a few challenges in terms of logistics. Storms experienced in mid-February caused some power outages in Milawa which Mr Tilbrook described as a nuisance, but they had remained mostly dry, and no damage was experienced. At Darling Estate Wines in Whitfield, they were about halfway through picking in the last week of February, with teams hand-picking gamay in the morning sunshine. Winemaker Sophie Darling said three of about 10 varieties were coming into the winery, with the next two weeks expected to be exceptionally busy. "We kicked off that little bit early - and it doesn't really matter whether you're ready or not, because the grapes are," she said. "From that initial burst, we had a bit of breathing room, so it's been a good start to vintage, because now we're ready to move into top gear. "We have nebbiolo, cabernet sauvignon and sangiovese still to come in, and the garganega - a late ripening Italian white variety - which will often come off after the reds. "We're very excited - 2025 is shaping up really nicely." At Pizzini Wines, Joel Pizzini said they were also at about the halfway mark as March approached, which was two to three weeks earlier than usual. He said it had been a wonderful season, with pinot grigio, arneis, prosecco and sangiovese for rosé, among the varieties picked so far. Mr Pizzini said they'd been really lucky to have avoided recent storms which affected properties in the King Valley, Edi and Moyhu, but he was well aware that could change at any time. "We're making some great wine, and for both whites and reds, it's been really good," he said. "What has been great is that it has actually been a relatively cool summer - while it feels like it has been really hot because of the hot afternoons, it's been relatively cool up until 3pm in the afternoon, so the vines have had the ideal conditions for optimal ripeness, flavour and colour. "There's some real hallmarks for a great season - so it's quite exciting - with yields also better than average."

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