I found this both exciting (like the go live of any big project you've been involved in), educational (as I got to see and be part of some of the wine making process I hadn't seen before) and sad (as I watched the vines I've come to know and differentiate between be stripped of their fruit and left bare and the grapes which I've counted, popped, weighed, counted again, sampled and tested in the lab, crushed to a pulp).
I also consider myself really lucky as the two picks which were done this week let me see both hand picking and machine harvesting. Not only that but they were the only two picks for the next ten days or so.
Monday started Vintage 2014 with the pick of the Chardonnay grapes for this years sparkling wine from one of our contract growers. This was a handpick which involved very little effort from us but roughly four hours back breaking work for the contractor team brought in to do it for us. Over that four hours they worked just like a machine to cut c.12 tonnes of grapes from 24 rows of vines. I've never seen anything like it. The speed at which they operate is unbelievable...not least as they are paid per tonne picked. As an aside, it's an interesting thing the contractor business. Employees are paid minimum wages, come from Thailand and Vanuatu predominantly, and will live in pretty substandard conditions (now illegal but it still goes on) to do what they consider to be well paid jobs which allow them to provide for their families. It's a real fine line between being great for them and a slight bit of exploitation).
Anyway back to vintage. Murray and I provided an escort of the first truck load of grapes to the winery where we toasted the start of vintage, appropriately enough, by popping open a bottle of fizz or two...a winery tradition to wish for a successful vintage. The grapes were then pressed and the juice sent off to the tanks to ferment for a few days.
Then it was all about the preparation over the next few days whilst the chief winemaker and the viticulturist decided the best time to pick the Pinot noir for the rose...there were so many factors...the Nelson grapes were ready to harvest ahead of the Marlborough ones but the cyclone was pending and could cause huge problems....in the end we picked both and I had the pleasure of being part of the Marlborough harvest. Not only that but got to ride on top of the harvester.
These machines are amazing. They operate by straddling a row of vines and literally beating the vines and the bunches to get the grapes to release. Basically they separate the grapes from their stems which are left intact in the vine.
The grapes are then passed through the machine along with leaves and any other debris and the rollers are set wide enough to let the berries fall through whilst the debris continues on its merry way to be disposed of off the side of the harvester.
The capability of the harvester is huge so it wasn't surprising to hear it costs a cool $400/500k. We harvested 16 tonnes of grapes on Friday and the poor winery had the joy of processing this plus the grapes from Nelson over the weekend.
So a successful week all round. The fruit juice is now fermenting into wine, vintage has started at a reasonable pace and the cyclone never quite hit those proportions (picture a standard Glasgow winters rainy day with a bit of wind). My time on the vineyard and winery is coming to a fitting end with me having seen the grapes through their ripening to the point of fermentation in the tanks and barrels I've learned how to clean. Only a couple more days to go.
And just as I leave at the first sign of truly hard work (they harvest and make wines 24/7 here for the next two months with grapes being picked through the night and then being processed day and night) so all the vintage staff for all the wineries are starting to arrive in Blenheim. The population has started to increase at least fourfold, the roads are busier, there are big bits of machinery and trucks and harvesters and tractors on the move all over town and beyond. There is a real international buzz starting to develop and excitement for Vintage 2014 is well and truly at fever pitch.
Here's hoping it's a good one...if the grapes are anything to go by it will be.
This week I...
...HUNG OUT at...home. It was lovely to have a weekend with no particular plans (well beyond Claire and I organising a trip to South America later this year). With the storms kicking in we bunkered down with movies, cheeses, wines etc...
...WINED ON...Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc at Raupo Cafe on Friday night. How could I ever have forgotten just how consistently stunning the wines from Astrolabe are? If only they had a cellar door. Watch out for them in the UK. Pricey but worth every cent. And no matter which you pick you'll not be disappointed...
...DINED ON...Gareth's homemade chilli rum marinated ribs. Oh my how divine they were...especially when eating with your fingers. Claire and I also had a stunning lunch at Wairau River winery where I had a lamb and mint burger that for the first time in my life actually tasted like lamb and mint!
Until next time....go try some great wines.
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