Grape harvest down 6pc
Marlborough had a smaller grape harvest than last year, but the drop in crop is far from the disaster some were predicting during an often sodden picking period.
Figures from New Zealand Winegrowers show 302,400 tonnes of grapes were harvested in Marlborough this year, 6 per cent down on the 323,300 tonnes in 2016.
The drop is at odds with comments made during harvest where a string of rain events and spread of the fungal disease botrytis triggered fears of mass losses.
Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens was not surprised by the slight reduction as most companies he had spoken to brought in all their fruit.
‘‘There was a lot of sensible decisions made during that picking period that really worked in the favour of wine companies and growers to get fruit off the vines,’’ he said.
‘‘It wasn’t a catastrophic vintage. That 6 per cent figure is something most people can live with.’’
Pickens said the growing demand for Marlborough wine combined with a slight shortfall in production this year would put wine companies in good stead to negotiate prices.
He praised the work of vineyard workers who dropped diseased fruit to ensure the quality of Marlborough wine was upheld.
‘‘The indications I have about flavour are very positive. It definitely wasn’t a straightforward harvest, but I’m looking forward to trying a glass of 2017 vintage wine,’’ he said.
Marlborough made up about 80 per cent of the total New Zealand harvest of 396,000 tonnes.
New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said a pre-harvest survey indicated wine companies wanted 450,000 tonnes this year.
‘‘Clearly the wineries wanted a slightly larger harvest and that hasn’t come in – we’re in an agricultural-based industry and we have to deal with what Mother Nature gives us.’’
Gregan described the national reduction in harvest tonnage – 9 per cent down on last year – as significant, however he said it was still not a small crop size.
The 396,000 tonnes of grapes harvested around the country worked out at an average yield of about 10 tonnes a hectare, he said.
Gregan said volume-wise export growth would be muted as a result of the smaller harvest, but value was tied to other factors including exchange rates and pricing.
New Zealand wine exports were valued at $1.65 billion a year, and Gregan was still confident the industry would achieve its goal of reaching $2b in exports by 2020.
"It wasn't a catastrophic vintage." Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens