NSW Wine has launched its pilot disease alert and virtual weather station dashboard, Weather as a Service (WaaS), in response to ageing physical infrastructure across the state.
NSW Wine, Riverina Winegrape Growers and Wine Australia have jointly been developing a disease alert and digital weather station solution for the state’s wine industry.
Using publicly available weather data sources, WaaS has been developed to provide a more local, adaptable and scalable weather service for grape growers that also includes disease alert features.
Available on the NSW Wine website, 16 virtual weather stations have been launched across the Riverina, Hunter Valley, Mudgee, Orange, Canberra, Tumbarumba, Hilltops and Southern Highlands with more to be rolled out in 2026.
NSW WaaS provides localised weather data and alerts for diseases like Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew and Botyrtis. WaaS includes DeltaT, observations and three-day forecasts for wind, rainfall, temperature and humidity providing value to the network.
WaaS is in the pilot stage and will continue to be refined with user feedback through the 2025/26 growing season. NSW Wine is encouraging use of the platform and is seeking feedback where required.
The virtual weather station locations replicate the legacy network to minimise behavioural change. Feedback can be provided on the WaaS page of the NSW Wine website.