Harvest 2008...

We are at the junction that is leaving Autumn and headed for winter. As with the reports from almost all winegrowing areas of New Zealand, 2008 has been a superb vintage.

The harvest at Isola was no exception. The Merlot came in very clean on the 3rd of April, at 23 brix with excellent ripe flavours and perfectly balanced acids.

At the same time so did a small portion of our Cabernet Franc, super ripe and high in sugars (at 24 brix). This was a fantastic day of harvesting with the clean fruit allowing the harvesters to ‘pick and drop’ into bins.

Speaking of which, the picking team was primarily made up of the Yr 11 viticulture class from Waiheke High School. The class need to be congradulated on there high-quality of picking ability and speed, thanks also to there teacher Simon Thompson for helping in organising the day.

All the leaves are brown...

Well at the moment yellow and red actually. This is a relatively stress-free time in the vineyard, the grapes are in, the winemaker is taking care of the fermenting fruit and the vineyard is ready for a couple of months siesta. It is a picturesque time of the year in the vineyard with the vine leaves taking on chameleon like changes of leaf colour.

This is attributed not so much as a colour change but due to the primary chlorophyll pigment retreating backing into the trunk of the vine for dormancy. What are left are accessory pigments that are identified as tones of red and yellow to the human eye.

This is a good time to give the vines a top up in nutrient, so we apply a seaweed based spray onto the canopy. This will be taken into the vine and stored in the trunk and roots.