Vintage is the busiest time of year, but it’s also when biosecurity risk peaks due to increased movement of people, machinery and equipment. The key action to remember is ‘clean in, clean out’ – which means don’t let unchecked or dirty machinery onto your property.
Vinehealth Australia offers a suite of tools and resources to help you keep your vines safe from pests, diseases and weeds, especially during vintage.
Our 2025 Vintage Biosecurity Tips have started in Daily Wine News on Tuesdays each week through vintage. You can also see the tips in regional newsletters and on our Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X accounts.
Three options for Footwear Hygiene are outlined on our website: disinfestation using a bleach footbath, shoe covers and on-farm footwear.
Vinehealth Australia provides a Heat Shed at Naracoorte for machinery disinfestation, a purpose-built facility for treating South Australian vineyard machinery to ensure that it’s free from phylloxera and other pests and diseases.
Used Grape Harvesters pose the highest phylloxera threat to vineyards, as they are very difficult to clean of grape and soil material. We provide a guide to harvester cleaning here. Note: there are strict rules for importing used harvesters into South Australia from other states that must be followed.
Our website also contains handy Resources, including Posters, Fact Sheets, Signs and Disinfestation Kits. We also have resources for Contractors and Wine Tourism Operators on our website.
And of course, if you see a biosecurity breach or an unusual pest or disease symptom in a vineyard, we encourage you to Report It.
We’re here to support South Australian vineyard owners. If you need to help with biosecurity during vintage, contact Vinehealth Australia at (08) 8273 0550 or email admin@vinehealth.com.au.