Winemakers across the Canberra region are holding their breath as heat, drought and smoke envelop the industry in a smog of uncertainty.
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The quality of this season's wines may end up being high because grapes thrive on some dryness.
But smoke and fire could turn everything to ashes.
Costs have risen for some who've had to buy or pump water where previously sweet, direct rain helped in the magical task of turning grape into wine.
"If the bore dries up we are in deep doo-doo," the co-owner of the Enotria winery, Helga Piscionery, said. One of the winery's dams is a dry cake of mud for the first time in living memory.
She's worried but not quite losing sleep yet. The key period will be in a month or two when "veraison" occurs, the crucial time when green grapes ripen and turn red. Bushfires then would be disastrous - smoke could intrude and ruin the quality of the wine.
"It's too early for the smoke to be a problem," according to Rob Howell, owner of Jeir Creek winery and one of the pioneers of the industry in the Canberra region.
Fire ripping through vines would obviously be ruin, as it has been in South Australia.
"Once a fire goes through this, there's nothing left," winery owner, Vilnis Ozolins, said. The Enotria winery like many others is surrounded by dense bush.
He blames environmentalists' fears over obscure animals. "The council won't let us cut down trees because they are scared it will kill some legless lizard or something."
Some winemakers fear this year's high temperatures may be the new normal.
"This is all about climate change," said Greg Mader, the manager of the Clonakilla winery.
"It's a new normal," the viticulturist said. "It's no doubt it's what's happening."
Others in the industry aren't quite so definitive. "I don't know if it's the new normal but it's looking likely," Leo Quirk, the viticulturist at Mount Majura Vineyard, said.
Hotter temperatures mean "vines need that little bit extra TLC - tender, loving care".
"Our quality will be high. We are one of the lucky ones in that we have water but other growers don't have that luxury," Mr Quirk said.
Costs have risen because bore water has to be pumped to vines. There's less foliage to keep the sun off grapes.
Wine making is a delicate process where a whole string of different tasks have to be done at the right time.
Vines need more and less water at different stages of their growth - lots of water early, to get them going, and less water later because water makes vines bushy and stops the grapes building up sugar.
At Clonakilla on Crisps Lane in Murrumbateman, they've had to bring in millions of litres of water. "The irrigation has been a massive undertaking," Mr Mader said. The winery does use bore water but "some of the bores are starting to show decline".
He said the pattern of the industry across the world was changing. Grapes ripen earlier everywhere.
The industry has been likened to the "canary in the coal mine" - the early warning signal for dangerous change on the way.
Canberra is a "cool climate" wine region and winemakers were continually trying out new varieties of grapes to cope with changed weather. Australian grape varieties are often those from France but some viticulturists think they need to reflect those from hotter climates.
The effects have not been that damaging so far. Wines don't taste any the worse for it but costs have risen because wines need more watering to make up for the lack of rain. It's a global pattern replicated in Australia and in the vineyards in and around Canberra.
Wines are getting stronger as the sun promotes sugar in grapes which turns to alcohol.
Stronger wines raise questions over marketing and taste, with some customers balking at an unexpected hangover the next morning where once their heads were clear.
Hotter climates make new wine regions viable. English wine was once laughable but now wins awards.
Growers in Champagne say it's getting hotter there. The industry's website says: "Global warming in the region is a fact: temperatures have increased by close to 1.2 degrees centigrade in 30 years and the blossoming and grape harvest dates have moved forward by a fortnight."
Elsewhere in France, in Bordeaux, new regulations govern varieties of grape brought in because temperatures are rising. They don't want the Bordeaux brand tainted as their winemaking changes.
German winemakers are considering moving north to Sweden. There are even wineries now in Norway.
Ten years ago, the Victoria company Brown Brothers bought winemaking property in Tasmania, expanding across the Bass Strait because of the rising heat of Victoria.
Winemakers are adapting - and worrying.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
