The Jancis Robinson Story | Mission Blind Tasting | Wine writing competition

Smoke gets in your eyes

Bushfire smoke in Sydney in December 2019

A cool assessment of the effects – both marked and negligible – of Australia's recent bushfires. This pall of bushfire smoke hung over Sydney Harbour as early as last December.

The fires are out. The rains have come. But as the 2020 grape harvest rumbles on across south-eastern Australia, winegrowers are still coming to grips with the drama of this growing season.

I reported here on the catastrophic fire that swept through the Adelaide Hills just before Christmas. Over the following couple of weeks, the fires caused more destruction in pockets of wine country: 19 vineyards lost in the Tumbarumba...

Become a member or log in to continue reading
Member
$135
/year
Save over 15% annually
Ideal for wine enthusiasts
  • Access 296,188 wine reviews & 16,113 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Access askJancis, our AI wine assistant
Inner Circle
$249
/year
 
Ideal for collectors

Everything in “Member”, plus:

  • Early access to the latest wine reviews, 48 hours in advance
  • Early access to the latest articles, 48 hours in advance
Professional
$299
/year
For individual wine professionals
  • Access 296,188 wine reviews & 16,113 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Access askJancis, our AI wine assistant
  • Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
  • Commercial use of up to 25 wine reviews & scores for marketing
Business
$399
/year
For companies in the wine trade

Everything in “Professional”, plus:

  • Commercial use of up to 250 wine reviews & scores for marketing
  • Access to submit wines for review
  • Offer memberships to your employees and manage them from a single place
  • API access available for an additional fee
Pay with
Visa logo Mastercard logo American Express logo Logo for more payment options
Join our newsletter

Get the latest from Jancis and her team of leading wine experts.

By subscribing you agree with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.

More Max on Oz

Project 5255 vintage 2022 winemakers
Max on Oz In South Australia, giving away grapes turns out to make good business sense. Above, winemakers involved in Project 5255, vintage...
Australia 2023 total crush by grape colour
Max on Oz This column marks ten years of Max Allen’s contributions to JancisRobinson.com. His first regular article, on Australia’s next generation of...
The Goulburn River spilled over its banks, flooding the vineyards at Tahbilk.
Max on Oz Floods and drought collide in eastern Australia. The last time the cellars flooded at Mitchelton was 1974, just after the...
Screwcaps
Max on Oz Do screwcaps preserve wines during a glorious evolution, or stunt their development? In 1977, when Clare Valley winemaker Andrew Mitchell...

More from JancisRobinson.com

Rudd Mt. Veeder Estate
Tasting articles Rich takes on this popular white-wine variety. Above, Rudd’s Mt Veeder Estate (© Rudd). For the last three years I...
Symington 2024 vintage ports
Tasting articles An excellent year for vintage port. No wonder every port house is releasing one or more such ports, making this...
Brit Nat tasting 2026 by Em Drake
Tasting articles Britpop move over; here comes Brít-Nat with pop-the-crown-cap controversy and edgy attitude. Henry writes On the day that the soon-to-be-legendary...
Ronan Sayburn MS, Sarah Abbott MW and Hannah Tovey at Icons tastings 2026
Free for all Take 27 Chardonnay ‘icons’ from around the world and serve them up to 18 accredited tasters … A version of...
Ried Kellerberg in autumn
Wines of the week Summer dreams in a limy, zesty white wine from Austria, from €9.90, £18.37, $19.99 . Above, the Kellerberg vineyard, one...
Diemersdal winemaking team
Tasting articles Great buys available in the UK and farther afield – including some naturally lower-alcohol wines. Above, left to right: Reon...
Alder Springs vineyard
Tasting articles Some of California’s most exciting wines are coming from a vineyard far from any other. Above, Alder Springs vineyard (credit...
WWC26 post-submission graphic
Free for all Great pairings – so many to choose from! A big thank you to all from Team JR. This year’s wine...
Wine inspiration delivered directly to your inbox, weekly
Our weekly newsletter is free for all
By subscribing you're confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions.