Winemakers’ Federation of Australia has reported a 1 per cent rise in the national crush, defying predictions disease pressures would result in a significant drop. The WFA 2011 Vintage Report was released today and puts this year’s vintage in excess of 1.62 million tonnes, despite some growers reporting losses of up to 80 per cent. The Riverland and the Riverina produced the highest crush increase, while cool weather and high disease pressure meant the crush produced by cooler regions was down.