Hot summer sees grape harvest kick off early
After months of pruning, thinning, frostfighting and growing – plump, sugary, juicy bunches of grapes have started to be picked across Central Otago vineyards.
Burn Cottage Vineyard, an organic and biodynamic vineyard in the Cromwell basin, is one of the first vineyards to start harvesting its pinot noir grapes for 2016.
Vineyard manager Shane Livingstone said a hot, dry summer had meant the harvest had started slightly earlier this season.
‘‘Biodynamic and organic grapes tend to ripen a bit earlier as well – with good maturity – which is good.
‘‘The grapes are looking really good. There is good flavour and acidity.
‘‘It has just been very hot and dry which has been great for grape production.
‘‘There is good seed, colour and maturity among the bunches . . . Most places have got good yields.’’
There were 24 seasonal workers from around the world helping harvest the grapes which would take about three weeks, he said.
‘‘The grapes all go to the Burn Cottage label. We have got our own winery in town (Cromwell).
‘‘The wine is mostly exported to 12 different countries.’’
There was an increasing demand from the export market for organic wines, he said.
‘‘It is growing – particularly in Europe, the United States and even places like Japan. People are concerned about what they are eating and drinking.’’
Seasonal worker Lyse Chezeaux, 21, of Burgundy, France, said she had been at Burn Cottage Vineyard for nine months. Her family owned an organic pinot noir vineyard. ‘‘I just finished school and came here travelling.
‘‘I leave in April. It’s good here. People are very nice.’’
Calum Campbell, 31, of Scotland, said it was his first time working on a vineyard – though he had picked chiles in Australia previously.
‘‘We drink a lot of wine (in Scotland) but don’t have vineyards – the weather isn’t good enough. It’s good, nice and relaxed. I had a friend who worked in New Zealand and did a lot of fruit picking and said he would always go back to vineyard work so I thought I would give it a go.’’
A 2015 Central Otago Labour Market Survey found viticulture in the region created a peak, in April, of 1266 workers.
The region’s flagship grape variety is the pinot noir of which there are 1484 producing hectares (aromatics 330ha, chardonnay 52ha, sauvignon blanc 45ha).
The region has 1932 total producing hectares, produces a total of 10.5 (000 tonnes), and makes up 2.4 per cent of New Zealand production tonnes, according to the New Zealand Winegrower’s Vineyard Register Report and Annual Report.
‘‘The grapes are looking really good. There is good flavour and acidity.’’ Shane Livingstone Burn Cottage Vineyard manager