NSW on track for vine slash

Farmers pulling out vines in New South Wales will cut the state's grape harvest by about 10 per cent this vintage.

The reduction puts the state on target for its goal of a 30 per cent cut to wine production within three years.

The Winemakers Federation of Australia predicts about 20 per cent of vines need to go nationally to fix the over supply.

David Lowe from the New South Wales Wine Industry Association says the figure shows the state is taking the necessary action.

"We don't know exactly how many have been removed and how many have just been left idle but we hope that most of the vineyards would have been removed," he says.

"But in some cases some people have decided not to manage their vineyard, and that's the other worry but the season's been so dry and hostile that in most cases they don't prove an environmental threat."