An update from Vineyard Manager Rich Williams

Ripening has progressed solidly in the last month and we are just a couple of days from harvest.

Now that the vineyard has been covered by bird nets and all our green thinning has been completed, we have been enjoying a quiet spell for a change. This gives us the opportunity to clean bins and prepare for the pick. Once we start bringing in fruit, it will be non-stop and so everything must be organised and ready to go. Workers for harvest have been recruited and I am looking forward to working alongside the team chosen to work with us through the harvest weeks.

Andy and Misha are here in Central Otago now to ensure things go smoothly and there are no unripe bunches picked – our quality control team!

It is always a tedious wait for the Vineyard Manager and team until that call comes from the Winemaker to start picking. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for those mysterious flavours to arrive and we continue to send off samples to the winery to test for brix and acids. So far the numbers are looking good enough for us to make a start next week. There is not a lot of work we can do now to increase quality and we have thrown everything at the vines to achieve a high standard this year. It is now up to Mother Nature finish off the ripening process.

I am really happy with how things have progressed lately and it’s hard to imagine that the vineyard season will be over soon and we can start again with the next one. So far the season to date has recorded 1061 Growing Degree Days (GDD) which is slightly higher than last year and slightly less than 2008. March was a real cracker a provided just over 200 of those GDD’s. Already though the temperatures are feeling a bit cooler and the foliage is showing signs of Autumn. It is a reassuring feeling once all the fruit has been taken off and sent to the winery to be processed and then Olly can work his magic!