JOHN and Rebekah Yaxley were this year looking forward to the best harvest their Yaxley Estate had produced since becoming an organic venture in 2005.
But the Forcett fire in Southern Tasmania, first reported on January 3, destroyed all but one row of their two-hectare vineyard, at Copping, leaving them devastated and thinking of leaving the industry they love.
"Those vines may regenerate next year and they might not, but what people don't realise is that there's a lot of work involved in putting the infrastructure around the vineyard back," Mrs Yaxley said.
"You've got all your posts, all your wires, all your irrigation, all your fencing against native animals and all your vine nets that would have to be replaced.
"And that's not just a matter of the money and what the insurance may or may not cover, it's the time it takes to put it in - I think that what John and I will most likely decide to do is change direction."
Mrs Yaxley said that she and son Joe, 4, evacuated on Friday morning, before the fire hit, but her husband remained.
On Tuesday, North- West beekeeper Robbie Charles nearly lost his Blue Hills Honey venture, established at Mawbanna by his father Rueben in 1955.
Raging fires came within a few hundred metres of the business, but Mr Charles remained, fighting the fire.
The blaze came within 30 metres of some hives, but they were saved by Montumana brigade members.
Tasmanian Beekeepers Association president Lindsay Bourke said that, so far, hives in the South had remained unharmed.