Murray Smith

Murray Smith was one of the founders of Orange's current wine industry, establishing Canobolas Smith Wines in 1986. He does not use irrigation for his wines, relying instead on rainfall.

"In France they talk about 'exploitation': deeper-rooted plants have access to more water and more minerals. If you are watering the plants, every time they're stressed, the roots won't go as deep."

Coming from an estate where the focus is on the quality of the wine, limiting the water you give them can help concentrate the flavour. Each vintage – each wine – is like a better representation of that season. From a practical aspect, if you don't water the vines over dry, stressful times, they will put their roots down looking for water and become deeper rooted.

In France they talk about 'exploitation': deeper-rooted plants have access to more water and more minerals. If you are watering the plants, every time they're stressed, the roots won't go as deep.

The 1990-91 growing season was very dry and we started investigating irrigating. Then it rained and the next season was good. As the vines become older they become less reliant on water. We get quite a reasonable average yield of about 2-1/2 to 3 tonnes per acre without watering.

One of the issues is getting the vines established. New vignerons worry about planting the vines and then having a dry season, so they put the irrigation in as insurance. On a fairly simple economic assessment you'd definitely irrigate, but when you are trying to get the very best wine you wouldn't do it.

The risk in irrigation is once you set it up it's too easy to do it.