Vintage fun, in a bubble of one

Harvest is in full swing here in the Awatere River, and it's shaping up to be a good one. The fruit is coming into the winery looking healthy, with concentrated flavours, ripe sugars and strong acid backbones, giving us the framework for some great wines this year.

The weather was looking slightly problematic for a minute. We had nearly 150mm of rain in the couple of weeks leading up to harvest and a colder than usual February, which can affect ripening. Thankfully the crop has come in healthy and bountiful compared to the much smaller vintage harvested in 2021 (the smallest harvest since 2015 for most of Marlborough).

We're also facing new challenges with covid spreading throughout the country. With the borders shut, it's been a struggle to get the harvest team together this year. However, we've been fortunate to pull together a dedicated team who've upskilled fast and supported each other (safely from a distance) to make the most of a harvest spent with covid protocols in place.

Despite the challenges, the Sauvignon Blanc is now all in, fermenting with select yeast and looking expressive of the Awatere Valley, with concentrated passionfruit, grapefruit, and a stone-like mineral character. Our Spindrift Rose is nearly finished, made with our best Pinot Noir free run juice, and is looking stylistically fruity yet elegant. The Pinot Noir open-top tanks are still fermenting and enjoying daily punch-downs and pump-overs from the team. So far, so good, and the winery smells lovely!