Whether global warming is fact or fiction there is a definite feeling out there that the 2010 summer-Australian vintage 2010 is going to be a warm one.

The first indication of this alarming reality is to take a view of the average winter temperature for the Australian continent in 2009. It is up 1.76 oC on the long term average, and the second hottest winter in the past six years. That spells out that the 2010 season is going to break early with many regions of the country bursting with buds (chardonnay is usually the first) early in September.