The Australian 2008 wine harvest has been upgraded

At almost 50% complete, the 2008 Australian winegrape harvest looks set to deliver between 1.55 and 1.65 million tonnes.

Continuing a turn towards supply/demand balance, the revised figure is up on the pre-harvest estimate of 1.22 million tonnes, largely due to improved water allocations and active water trading in the warm inland districts.

Nationally, the increase in crush compared to last year is the result of an overall increase in yields combined with a marginal increase in bearing area.