Night after night of freezing temperatures is damaging winegrapes in some of Australia's biggest growing regions.
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00:00I'm standing in the vineyard owned by fifth generation Barossa Valley grape grower Adrian
00:06Hoffman and he's just one of many producers in the region who have been battling to avoid
00:11major losses to their crops following severe frost which has swept across the state in
00:16recent days. Mr Hoffman says it's hard to estimate exactly how much crop he has lost
00:22over the past few days and says damage across the region can vary from vineyard to vineyard
00:27but he says the frost comes at a crucial time when new growth from the vines approaches
00:31flowering and the combination of a dry winter and early bud burst has left many grape varieties
00:37especially vulnerable and the ABC understands that some of the crops hit by the cold front
00:43have been wiped out altogether for this year's season. Overnight freezing temperatures have
00:48been hitting large parts of the country with the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Riverland
00:52just some of the regions affected here in South Australia. Temperatures dipped as low
00:57as minus four degrees Celsius in the Barossa yesterday morning and today it's been as low
01:02as minus two degrees. The Weather Bureau also says that Adelaide recorded its coldest September
01:08temperature on record this morning with a low of 1.3 degrees in the city. In the meantime
01:14though producers like Mr Hoffman are just hoping for some relief from the frosty conditions
01:19and fortunately it does look like some rain is forecast for later in the week which will
01:24hopefully prevent more damage to vineyards like this one.