1 month ago
17
With the help of a CFA ute and a mate, Matt Fowles was able to save his home on Thursday, but little else of his award-winning Fowles Wines vineyard.
The Longwood fire hit the family-owned winery outside Avenel, north of Melbourne, at 9.15am on Thursday and, just 45 minutes later, it had left a moonscape of scorched vines, razed homes and dead sheep.
Winemaker Matt Fowles says there’s barely a blade of grass on his property that hasn’t been burnt.Credit: Matt Fowles
About 300 acres of vines have been destroyed, hundreds of sheep killed and Fowles’ uncle’s house, as well as those of neighbours, are gone.
“By 9.30am it rolled on and put pressure on the house and smoke, thick smoke and then by 9.45am the whole [property] was ablaze,” Fowles said.
Fowles managed to save his house, but his vines are gone.Credit: Matt Fowles
“My whole yard was alight, we only just saved the house. At another property about five kilometres down the road, we lost everything. We lost the house and four sheds. That was the house my uncle was living in, and he chose to leave the day before, which was obviously a very good thing to do.
“I’m aware of two other houses that have been lost and, on my other boundary to the north, I know there’s a house that was lost in there, which highlights how amazing it was that we managed to hang on to ours.”
By 10am on Thursday, a shocked Fowles began mopping up and assessing damage, and worked until midnight to protect whatever buildings remained, before winds increased again and he left 300 acres of scorched vines, 1500 acres of burnt grazing land and hundreds of dead sheep.
“I thought, ‘Geez, I could be toast with what’s coming’, and it spooked me, so I got out of there,” the winemaker said.
“It’s a moonscape. There’s barely a blade of grass.
“Yesterday was intense and I’m in shock, I would say, if I’m being realistic. I was pretty emotional this morning, and then now I’m thinking about how to piece it all back together.”
When The Age checked in with him later on Friday, he said his house had been lost. His crop, too, is completely gone for the year.
Matt Fowles and wife Lu at his vineyard in 2024.
“At this stage, it’s definitely 100 per cent crop failure for this vintage, and all the infrastructure around it – all the drippers [for watering], all the posts – are all burnt, burned to the ground.
“I’ve had hundreds of texts [from] mates in the wine industry and beyond, getting in touch and I have had several offers now saying they will send me some fruit. So the support has been absolutely amazing.”
Matt’s brother, independent MP Will Fowles, thanked the CFA and his friends and neighbours for their support.
“This is an incredibly challenging time for the communities of Avenel and Longwood,” he told The Age. “We are incredibly grateful for the bravery and generosity of the CFA volunteers as well as our neighbours and friends.”
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