Only the strong will survive

Take a drive through the Hunter Valley and the mid-north coast hinterland at the moment to see verdant green hillsides, lush paddocks and rivers in full flow. It’s a wonderful sight. Every so often, there’s a pocket that’s less pretty. A place where leaves are, literally, withering on the vine. What you are seeing are the consequences of a world oversupplied with wine. For the local grower it is a world not helped by a strong Australian dollar. It’s a time when every vine has to earn its keep or else, writes Sue Bennett in the weekend Sydney Morning Herald.