"The Great Flood" washes through

This article posted 15th March 2010. View the latest information from the vineyard. Road condition report - all roads open, click here to read more.

Concerned Riversands fans have asked 'will the vines survive?'  Luckily, owner David Blacket did some research prior to the flood hitting, and expects that "the vines should survive for around a week or two underwater. The essential part is for the roots to dry out and have air around them." Flood waters at this stage are dissipating at a slow but steady rate.

Ninety percent of grapes - table grapes and wine grapes - are inundated to varying degrees. "Some are only ankle deep in water, others have almost 1.8m of water on top, with just the tips of the leaves poking through!" Says David.

The cellar, office, shed, wine storage and garden are on a higher sand ridge and luckily, are not affected. With flood waters still high, David takes the boat to work each day. Next week will be back to business as usual, shipping cartons of wine right round Australia.

Fortunately, the table and wine grape harvest was in December - well before the 'big wet'. We call our Shiraz/Cab blend 'Western Rivers Run'. Perhaps now that should be 'Western Rivers Flood'?

Flooding will soon dissapear - it'll be a beaut time to visit the District! We are gearing up for a big Easter in the Vines early April. The best way to help flood affected businesses in the West is by visiting! Don't delay your trip! We'd love to see you at the cellar or our popular Easter in the Vines ... In the meantime, here's a few pics from around the vineyard:

Vineyard owner David Blacket get's ready to take the jetski to work...

Welcome to Riversands - where the river really does meet the sand! This was our driveway entrance on Sunday 7th March

You usually drive past these vines on your way in.

David Blacket with our new block of Midnight Beauties. This block slopes downwards to the River. These were amongst the first grapes to go under.

David gets ready to catch the jetski back out.

The span of water covering the vines

This one shows the depth of the flooding. The vines are generally about 6 feet high

The boys are skiing along what is usually a road! You can see how deep the water is, with just the tip of the roadside sign poking out. See how submerged the vines are - only a few leaves are above the water

Thanks for floating in to Riversands!

Wine is boated out of the vineyard ready for Inglewood Show