Monday, 20 January 2020
Henschke Response to Cudlee Creek Fire (Adelaide Hills)
We appreciate the kind thoughts of support following the Cudlee Creek fire that started on Friday, 20 December 2019. Around 1,100ha of vineyard in the northern part of the Adelaide Hills wine region was burnt, including 90% of our 25-hectare Lenswood vineyard.
The fire destroyed both of our sheds, all of our machinery and equipment and also damaged our vineyards, trellis and irrigation infrastructure. This vineyard usually provides 25% of our grape production but for 2020 it will be zero. Fortunately, the Innes Pinot Gris vineyard at Littlehampton was untouched by the fire. Our Eden Valley and Barossa Valley vineyards, as well as our winery and cellar door, were a long way from the fire front.
After an assessment of the damage, work is now underway to restore the Lenswood property through re-establishing irrigation, in order to stimulate the less badly scorched vines into regrowth, and using vine rejuvenation methods appropriate to the fire damage sustained. We expect that some vines will recover over the duration of this season, however with other blocks we will need to wait until spring before we know the true extent of the loss. The recovery will be slow and we can only hope that the vineyard will be back in limited production from vintage 2021.
There have been many ups and downs over Henschke’s 150 years. This is another chapter that we will have to be strong and resilient enough to overcome. Prue and her team at Lenswood have spent many years building up this beautiful cool-climate vineyard and they are resolute in bringing it back to its former glory.
Bushfire relief efforts | How you can help
Donations can be made to:
Adelaide Hills Wine Region Fire Appeal
Thanks again for your support.
Regards,
The Henschke family & team