But if yields were down, the fruit was of a high standard.
AFTER the drought, bushfires and smoke taint of 2020, the one thing that was guaranteed was that vintage 2021 had to be an improvement for NSW. And it was, but to varying degrees. In broad terms, NSW produced strong quality, but yields were significantly down – a bitter, final twist from the years of prolonged drought.
The COVID restrictions threw an added spanner in the works with fruit finally available for picking, but a real shortage of pickers to bring the fruit in. It seemed to be a common
