Grape yield halved by disease

Disease has meant the Mudgee grape harvest has been significantly reduced. (ABC local: Justin Huntsdale)

Around half the expected yield of wine grapes in the Mudgee region in central western New South Wales this season has been destroyed by disease.

The New South Wales Wine Industry Association says rain at the end of last year caused a mildew to form on young bunches of grapes on the vine, killing them within days.

The Association's President, David Lowe, says harvest started about a week ago.

He says what remains of the crop appears to be healthy.

"It's really knocked the yields around, I think that's just the same right around Western New South Wales, in fact I think, except for Western Australia, it's been a national problem," he said.

" So there's a lot of loss of crop because of that earlier rain, and people couldn't get on to protect the vines.

"However, we've had really warm and balmy weather since January so what we've got, which isn't much, is surprisingly good."

Mr Lowe says because of the different conditions this season, wines produced will have a lower alcohol content.

"The wines have got much higher natural acidity, they're much more aromatic and brighter, and it means that we won't have to have the wines of very high alcohol content that we've had in the previous seven or eight years.

"I'm sure that's a plus for us.

"We're starting to see some criticism of the industry because we've had such high alcohol wine so, I think it's a chance for us to show that we are able to make classy wine at lower alcohol levels," he said.