Dear Sommeliers Australia members and friends,
Thank you to the many of you who have shared messages of concern for those affected by the bushfires, and for reaching out to see what you can do during this desperate time.
To date, 12 million hectares have been burnt and an estimated 500+ million animals have perished. In New South Wales alone, 3.6 million hectares have been burnt (larger than the land mass of Belgium), with 1 million in Victoria and 1.5 million in Western Australia.
On 20 December, the Adelaide Hills wine region suffered enormously from a raging fire, with major losses of vineyards, equipment, businesses and homes. It has been reported that up to a third of the 2020 vintage has been lost, with some producers and growers losing everything.
To aid our local wine industry, Sommeliers Australia is liaising across various fundraising events to support some of the charities directly aiding bushfire relief (listed below).
From a practical perspective, Sommeliers Australia encourages sommeliers around Australia and the world to support affected wineries (Adelaide Hills producers in particular, however other regions in Victoria and New South Wales continue to be under threat) by listing an extra wine by the glass or bottle, or by running a feature page for a set period of time. The producers and growers with major losses will suffer big impacts to their business over the coming years not just months.
Everyone involved with Sommeliers Australia hopes that this major emergency situation will pass soon, and that our contributions will help with the rebuilding phase.
We send our thoughts and best wishes to everyone affected.
Kind regards,
Sarah Andrew & Chris Crawford
Sommeliers Australia – Co-Presidents
Video kindly shared by Riposte Wines
Donations can be made to:
To support residents
Red Cross https://www.redcross.org.au/campaigns/disaster-relief-and-recovery-donate
St Vincent de Paul Society https://www.vinnies.org.au/page/Donate/Vinnies_Current_Appeals/
Salvation Army https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/
Foodbank https://www.foodbank.org.au/support-us/make-a-donation/donate-funds/?state=vic
GIVIT http://www.givit.org.au/
To support firefighters
CFA (Victoria) https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/supporting-cfa#donate-cfa
RSA (New South Wales) https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/volunteer/support-your-local-brigade
To support wildlife
World Wildlife Fund https://www.wwf.org.au/get-involved/bushfire-emergency#gs.ppas4t
To support the Adelaide Hills wine region
Adelaide Hills Fire Appeal https://www.adelaidehillswine.com.au/fireappeal
