South Australian growers once again lead the way in the national vintage

South Australian growers lead the way in delivering the largest ever crush for the state in what has been described as a 'unicorn' vintage, with near-perfect growing and ripening conditions delivering both exceptional quality and good crop size. 

While it was a record crush overall, the Riverland and Wrattonbully were the only two regions to beat their individual record. The Riverland's crush was 27% above average and accounted for 59% of the state total. Wrattonbully crushed 32,738 tonnes, 74% above the 10-year average and nearly three times the size of the 2020 vintage.

The total estimated value of the crush was $827 million compared with $556 million in 2020, reflecting the increased volume. The overall average value across the state was virtually unchanged at $792 compared with $789 per tonne.

Nationally, the 2021 crush was 31% higher than the 2020 vintage and 19% above the 2019 vintage. The larger crush balanced out the two previous small vintages, with the average of the three being closely in line with the 10-year average of 1.74 million tonnes.

South Australia was the largest contributor of the states, with an estimated harvest of 1.06 million tonnes (52% of the national total), followed by New South Wales with 580,875 tonnes (29%) and Victoria with 334,834 tonnes (17%).

To read more about the 2020/21 harvest you can read the report from Wine Australia or visit the WGCSA website for a state summary and reports for each of the major wine growing regions in SA. ​